We’ve all heard about humpback whales. They are probably the most famous baleen whale species. But did you know humpback dolphins existed? There are actually four different species of humpback dolphins, all grouped in the genus Sousa. This month, we cover Sousa chinensis, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin. This coastal dolphin needs our help; let’s find …
We are super happy to feature the beluga whale this February for our “Whale of the Month”. We are even more excited because this post is a collaboration with Whales Online (Baleines en Direct) and the GREMM (Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals) located in Tadoussac, Quebec. Beluga conservation is one of the …
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 …
Happy holiday season! This month, we decided to highlight a shy little odontocete, the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). They are not known for grand displays in the water, but we wanted to do them justice this month because we believe they do not get enough love! These shy little guys face various human threats, so …
Whalecome to our new whales of the month: the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. Like their cousin, the sperm whale, they like to spend most of their time deep underwater to hunt their favorite prey: squid and deep-sea fish, and crustaceans. Did you know they can release “ink” from their butts to confuse predators?! Find …
Kogia: dwarf and pygmy sperm whales – November 2021 Read More »
We like to focus on a fossil whale every October since we are close to Halloween. This month we look back at the cetacean evolutionary tree and talk about the Dorudon (Dorudon atrox). This primitive cetacean swam the ancient Eocene oceans of what is now Egypt and the United States, along with the Basilosaurus. Just …
Welcome to our new “whale of the month,” the leopard seal. This muscular seal has a large reptilian-like head and is the third-largest pinniped in the world. This Antarctic seal has also been featured in a TikTok video on a beach in South Australia, a couple of days ago. Whether you came here from TikTok …
Happy July! This month, we decided to celebrate the Yangtze finless porpoise. You might have heard of the Baiji, also called the Yangtze river dolphin. Sadly, the species was officially declared to be extinct in 2006. Yet, another freshwater species resides in the Yangtze River, and if you thought the Irrawaddy dolphin was the cutest, …
Let’s give a big Aloha to our new “whale” of the month, the Hawaiian Monk Seal! In this post, we will dive into their subtropical home and explore these endangered creatures. What in the Monk? The monk seal gets its common name from the thick fold of skin around its neck, which resembles a monk’s …
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 …
