Ever since the creation of synthetic plastic in 1869, plastic has become an inescapable part of life on Earth. From large, bulky items to the invisible-to-the-naked-eye pieces, plastic circulates in the air, water, and even our blood and lungs. Today we are focusing on a new study that looked at microplastics in baleen whales off […]
Scientists Found Microplastics In Baleen Whale Poop Off New Zealand Read More »
At the start of this year, we talked about the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Today we wanted to dive deeper into a specific part of their giant anatomy: their heart! It’s no surprise that blue whales have huge hearts since they are one of the largest animals ever to exist. Not only are these organs huge
The largest heart in the animal kingdom belongs to the blue whale Read More »
Happy New Year from all of us at Whale Scientists! My name is Bri, and this month I get to tell you all about the blue whale, the largest animal in the world. One of my strongest memories as a kid was visiting my local aquarium and looking up in awe at the life-sized blue
The largest whale of them all: The Blue Whale Read More »
As if giving birth was not hard enough, when you are trying to push a 1.5-tons baby out of your womb, having to deal with hormone-triggered males adds another level of stress to a humpback whale in labor. A new study published this September detailed six previously un-published humpback whale birth events. In most cases,
Humpback whale males escort females giving birth, but it can get chaotic Read More »
Have you ever asked, “Why do whales jump?” Well, there’s not a precise answer, but we will try to answer it in this post, so keep reading. If you’ve ever played in shallow water, you might have used your feet to push off the bottom and pretend to jump out of the water like a
Don’t flip out: whales jump for more than one porpoise Read More »
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are fascinating marine mammals; they are among the largest whale species on the planet. They are found in almost every ocean and might also be the nicest animals in the world. They also happen to have one of the longest migrations of any mammal. In this post, we’ll learn more about
Humpback Whales: Migrating Giants Read More »
When we think about whale conservation, we can picture researchers frantically taking photos of surfacing whales, dangling over the edge of a research boat collecting biopsy samples or elbow deep into a carcass. However, recently, some whale scientists are on a mission to collect a less conventional sample: whale snot! What is whale snot, and
How can snot-collecting drones help with whale conservation? Read More »
Altruism: the belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others. Compassion: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. These two words are usually applied to humans and situations involving us. But one question stands: Could some animals like humpback whales have the ability to feel and express
Are humpback whales the nicest animals in the world? Read More »
Whalecome to our new whale of the month, the sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis! This mysterious baleen whale is the third largest of the rorqual family. It is also an endangered species that was hunted to near extinction and is now slowly recovering. Here are a couple of cool facts about the sei whale. Sonic whale
We found long-banned pesticides and industrial pollutants in the blubber of humpback whales from Antarctica, suggesting these contaminants accumulate in Antarctic food webs. The pollution levels however were the some of the lowest measured in the world for these whales. Good news for the whales! Our study on humpback whales from Antarctica just got published
What can whales tell us about pollution in Antarctica? Read More »
