Did you know that you could assess the health of the Baltic sea by simply counting the number of grey seal pups? We explain to you how it works in this post. The Baltic Sea, between salt and freshwater The Baltic Sea is a little arm of the North Atlantic Ocean tucked away in northeastern …
Count grey seal pups to estimate the quality of the Baltic Sea’s food web Read More »
This April, let’s celebrate Hector’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori). They are the only cetaceans endemic to New Zealand, which means they are only found there. Hector’s dolphins actually include two subspecies: the endangered South Island’s Hector’s dolphins and the critically endangered Maui dolphin. Let’s find out more about Hector’s dolphins in this post. One of the …
Welcome to our first official bilingual article on beluga whales in Quebec! A new pipeline project connecting Alberta and Quebec recently proposed in Canada could threaten a local beluga population’s survival. Below this English version, you will find a translated text for our french-speaking readers. Bienvenue à notre tout premier article bilingue sur les bélugas …
This natural gas project threatens the survival of beluga whales in Quebec 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 …
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 »
This month, we will talk about the sirenians: manatees and dugongs. These slow and peaceful “herbivores”, also called sea cows, have elephants as their closest land relatives. In this post, we highlight some mostly unknown facts about the sirenian family and hope to raise awareness about the threats they face today. They are not strict …
Commercial whaling is a complicated topic. Almost everybody has a strong opinion about it, and discussions can get heated quickly. So let’s take a deep breath and try to keep the blood pressure low. Nowadays, three countries openly conduct commercial whaling: Japan, Norway, and Iceland. Indigenous people in various parts of the world, e.g., Alaska …
We are wrapping this year with a lesser-known, but very well studied ziphiid, or beaked whale, the northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus). The northern bottlenose whale is the largest member of the beaked family found in the North Atlantic Ocean. They have a bottle-shaped beak and a hooked dorsal fin, hence the “bottlenose” in their …
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 …
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 »
