Jeroen Hoekendijk is a 33 years-old Dutch marine mammalogist currently working on his PhD on marine wildlife detection using aerial and satellite imagery. Here is his story. It all started with an orca encounter in Canada I’ve always been fascinated by the sea, the oceans, and everything inside it, but I never considered making a […]
Whale Scientists Story: Jeroen Hoekendijk Read More »
What species are out there in the big blue ocean? How many individuals are there? These are some of the biggest questions scientists face when studying populations. Specifically, when a particular species is in danger of becoming extinct. In marine science, visual tracking alone is not always practical. Our first post on the vaquita was
Acoustic monitoring of the critically endangered vaquita Read More »
The Moskva was the largest and most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker at her time of delivery. She got some international attention in 1985 when she herded around 2000 ice-entrapped belugas back to the open sea … by playing classical music. Yes, you read that right! What is an icebreaker? An icebreaker is a class of ships
Russian ship played classical music to rescue entrapped belugas Read More »
Vaquita porpoises have puzzled scientists since their discovery in 1958. Regrettably, their populations have gotten much smaller over time due to illegal fishing practices. In this post, we highlight that while these “little cows” may be difficult to protect, we should try everything we can to save them. The Mysterious Nature of the Vaquita Vaquita
Vaquita, the most endangered cetacean in the world Read More »
Bad news in Tasmania The world just woke up to the terrible news: at least 470 pilot whales beached themselves in Tasmania and around 400 are dead. First, a pod of 270 individuals stranded together on Tuesday. They were soon followed by 200 other individuals on Wednesday. This is the biggest stranding event in Tasmania
Massive graveyard in Tasmania: Why do whales beach themselves? Read More »
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 »
With their petite size ranging from 2 to 2.8 meters (6 to 9 feet), Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) possess an endearing resemblance to baby beluga whales. What sets these shy and endangered dolphins apart is their super cute and expressively charming faces. In this post, we highlight some fascinating facts about these endangered marine creatures.
The Irrawaddy dolphin needs our help Read More »
This post talks about the future of sperm whales and other deep-divers in the Canary Islands. Sperm whales are such amazing animals. These whales are the world’s largest toothed whales, living up to 70 years. These giant whales are quite similar to submarine: they can deep-dive while holding their breath for about 45 minutes below
Protecting the Canary Islands’ sea and its sperm whales Read More »
Fadia Al Abbar is a 31 years-old half Dutch half Kuwaiti marine mammalogist. She is currently doing her PhD on common dolphins in the Azores. Here is her story… Fadia’s education A focus on policy making I started my bachelor’s degree in environmental science, with a focus on policymaking at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands.
Whale Scientists Story: Fadia Al Abbar Read More »
Here is the story of Fluker, the fluke-less fin whale. This female whale became famous in the Mediterranean Sea because she lost her tail about a year ago. Through this post, we would like to raise awareness on boat strikes and drifting nets that injure/kill many whales everywhere, every year. Today, Fluker, the whale with
The whale with no tail – Fluker is dying Read More »
