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Using AI to decode clicks from sperm whales, the scientists discovered a sophisticated alphabet hidden in the animals' sounds. And similar to Morse Code, their clicks are what they mainly use to communicate and socialize with other sperm whales. AdvertisementThinking like baby whalesA Project CETI collaborator holds the drone that the researchers use to observe sperm whale behavior and body language. Project CETIIn partnership with the Dominica Sperm Whale Project, Project CETI observes and documents sperm whale communication using a variety of different technologies. The researchers supplement these auditory recordings with drone surveys of the whales' body language and field observations taken by Project CETI researchers.
Persons: , David Gruber, Gruber, Brandon Sloter Organizations: Service, Business, Project, Morse, Nature Communications, Project CETI, NOAA Locations: Dominica, Eastern
CNN —Veteran environmentalist Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland on Sunday and faces possible extradition to Japan allegedly over anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic years ago, his organization said in a statement. The ship John Paul DeJoria and a 25-member crew were en route from Dublin, Ireland to the North Pacific to intercept Japan’s newly launched $48 million factory whaling ship the Kangei Maru, CPWF said. In a statement, Greenland police said they arrested Watson upon his arrival in Nuuk due to a Japanese arrest warrant. His foundation believes the arrest “is connected to a previous Red Notice issued for Watson’s anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.”“This development comes as a surprise since the Foundation’s lawyers had reported that the Red Notice had been withdrawn. “Japan has never given up on its whaling ambitions,” Watson told CNN at the time.
Persons: Paul Watson, Captain Paul Watson, John Paul DeJoria, CPWF, , cuffing Paul Watson, Locky MacLean, Watson, Captain Watson, Kaisha, Shepherd, Kyodo Senpaku, , ” Watson, Takaaki Sakamoto, Hideki Tokoro, ” Tokoro Organizations: CNN —, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Greenland police, ” Ship, Police, Japan Coast Guard, CNN, Interpol, Greenpeace, Shepherd Conservation Society, Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, Kyodo, Whaling Affairs, Japan’s Fisheries Agency, Kangei, Commission, IWC Locations: Greenland, Japan, Nuuk, Dublin, Ireland, Pacific, Shepherd, Germany, Costa Rica, Guatemala, United States, Australia, Norway, Iceland, Kangei
Now, experts in New Zealand are scrambling to confirm whether a 5-meter (16-foot) carcass that recently washed ashore on the country’s South Island is the near-mythical spade-toothed whale. After inspection and consultation with marine-mammal experts, scientists believed the carcass was that of a male spade-toothed whale, though more tests were needed. It may take several weeks or months for the DNA to be processed and a final species ID to be confirmed, according to New Zealand’s conservation department. If the carcass is confirmed as a spade-toothed whale and dissected, Hendriks from the DOC said scientists will be very interested in details of its its stomach and gastrointestinal tract. “This can tell us about what the whale has been eating, but it is also significant because every beaked whale species has a unique stomach plan,” she said.
Persons: CNN —, it’ll, , Hannah Hendriks, Gabe Davies, ” Davies, Nadia Wesley, Smith, Te, Organizations: CNN, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, Coastal Otago, RNZ, University of Auckland Locations: New Zealand, , Zealand, Te Rūnanga, Pitt, of Plenty, Gisborne
Demand for whale meat in JapanOver the years, Kyodo Senpaku has launched aggressive public relation campaigns to promote whale meat and win over new generations of young diners. We would react very badly to that.”The owner of a whale meat shop shows a block of whale meat at the Karato fish market in Shimonoseki city. Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty ImagesThis picture taken on May 20, 2024 shows whale meat sashimi at a 'Nisshinmaru' whale meat restaurant in Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture. Located in deep waters surrounding the entire continent of Antarctica, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary hosts dozens of whale species including humpbacks, blue whales and fin whales. “It’s called the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary for a reason – you don’t kill whales there,” Watson said.
Persons: Tokyo CNN —, Hideki Tokoro, , ” Tokoro, Hideko Tokoro, Hanako Montgomery, Paul Watson, , Daisuke Urakami, Ari Friedlaender, Sutton Hibbert, Shutterstock, ” Donald Rothwell, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Francois Gohier, ” WCA, Tokoro, Nobuhiro Kishigami, ” Kishigami, “ It’s, Yuichi Yamazaki, Mitsuhiro Kishimoto, Juan Barreto, Takaaki Sakamoto, Captain Paul Watson, aren’t, James Anderson, ” Rothwell, Watson, CNN he’s, ” Watson Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Kyodo, CNN, Yomiuri Shimbun, , International Whaling Commission, IWC, International Convention, Whaling, Australian National University, ANU, Cetacean, Kyodo Senpaku, South Korea –, National Museum of Ethnology, Getty, Shimonoseki City University, Whale, Whaling Affairs, Japan’s Fisheries Agency, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Whale Defense Agency Locations: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kangei, Japan, Norway, Iceland, Nisshin, Gulf of Maine, North, Russia, Thailand, South, Osaka, Shimonoseki, AFP, Yamaguchi, Gerlache, Antarctica,
Ancient giant dolphin discovered in the Amazon
  + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +8 min
And though there are Amazonian freshwater dolphin species alive today, they aren’t close kin to that ancient cetacean. There’s the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista genus) and the Amazon river dolphin (Inia genus), also known as the pink river dolphin, and the two groups include several species and subspecies. Researchers discovered the Amazonian dolphin fossil in 2018, near the Napo River in Loreto, Peru. At first, they thought it would turn out to be an ancient relative of modern Amazonian river dolphins. “That was a moment where everybody freaked out, because it wasn’t an Amazonian river dolphin,” Benites-Palomino said.
Persons: , Jorge Velez, ” Velez, Juarbe, Aldo Benites, Palomino, John J, Flynn, Palomino “, John, freaked, Benites, yacuruna, Rodolfo Salas, Gismondi, ” Benites, Pebanista, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, American Association for, Advancement of Science, Juarbe, of Los, International Union for, Nature, IUCN, University of Zurich’s Department of Paleontology, American Museum of, of, World Wildlife Fund, Velez, Scientific Locations: Peruvian, South Asia, America, of Los Angeles County, Loreto , Peru, New York City, Peru, of Lima, Amazonia
Here are the meanings of the 10 hardest words that have also been used in Times articles. — A Taiwan Museum Featuring All of Asia (Oct. 6, 2016)5. tactual — related to touch:“This is something you can learn so quickly,” she said. “You may not become an Olympic rider that fast, but it is a skill you can gain competence in so quickly as opposed to other sports. It’s amazing in terms of the tactual sense. — As Dead Dolphins Wash Ashore, Ukraine Builds a Case of Ecocide Against Russia (Aug. 17, 2023)The list of the week’s easiest words:
Persons: Hahn’s, Sue Williams, Lisa Yuskavage, Judith Linhares, Dana Schutz, Heidi Hahn, Jack Hanley, , Kan, tantara, arhat, tactual, , lunula, gigue, — Katherine Hoffman, Dr, Kerner, cetacean, Goldin Organizations: “ Star, Christian, Taiwan, Dolphins, Ecocide Locations: Lawrence, Edo, Japan, , Asia, Florida, Ukraine
Soon, factories processing whale oil, meat and bones sprung up on the islands. After crude oil was discovered in 1859, the demand for whale oil decreased dramatically in the following decades. In 1990, French national Serge Viallele set up the first whale watching company in the archipelago, on Pico island. The number of whale watching boats is strictly limited by a license system, which issues a maximum number per island – or per zone for the smaller islands. For now, whale watching remains a major draw for visitors to the islands.
Persons: , Rui de Souza Martins, Azorean, they’d, De Agostini, , – didn’t, José Carlos Garcia, São Miguel, Pedro Madruga, wasn’t, Francois Gohier, Serge Viallele, “ Viallele, Miguel Cravinho, Francisco Garcia, ” de Souza Martins, you’ll, Martin Zwick, Jean, Michel Cousteau, Luís Silva, Garcia, Organizations: CNN, University of, Whaling, Whalers, Netflix, International Whaling Commission, IWC, Azul, World Cetacean Alliance, Centre for Research Locations: Azores, Lisbon, Azoreans, Portugal, United States, Nantucket and New Bedford , Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Pico, Francois, Terra Azul, Miguel, Europe
But oddly enough, the killer whales don't eat the animals. Orcas are killing porpoises but not eating themFrom 1962 to 2020, researchers recorded and studied 78 episodes of Southern Resident Killer Whales harassing and, in many cases, killing multiple types of porpoises. They lead the majority of their lives in a group setting, in pods of up to 20 other killer whales, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The orcas' choice not to eat the porpoises was consistent with what Marino had seen in her years in the field. And sometimes they show them how to do it and then they don't actually eat the animal," she said.
Persons: , Eric Lowenbach, Lori Marino, Martin Ruegner, Marino, We've, orcas, Serge Melesean, Deborah Giles, Giles Organizations: Service, Southern, Mammal, British Columbia, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Newsweek Locations: Pacific, North Pacific, Washington , Oregon, British, Mayotte, France
Sperm and bottlenose whales are known to pursue fishing boats to catch fish that escape the nets. Hal Whitehead, a sperm whale expert and biology professor at Dalhousie University, told Insider. What's even more interesting is that it's not only whales that have learned to catch fish escaping the fishermen's nets. Usua Oyarbide"As time goes on we hear more and more reports of everything from sperm whales to dolphins doing this. "I've known about sperm whales being engaged with different fisheries but I wasn't aware northern Bottlenose whales show similar behavior, so I've learned something new."
Persons: It's, Whales, Usua, Usua Oyarbide, Oyarbide, Hal Whitehead, wasn't, Andrew Trites, Vince Streano, Whitehead, Trites, I've Organizations: Service, Greenland, Dalhousie University, Marine Mammal Research, University of British, International Whaling Commission, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration Locations: Wall, Silicon, Newfoundland, Greenland, University of British Columbia, Canada, Africa, China, Australia
Orcas were spotted hunting dolphins off the coast of San Diego, in a graphic new drone video. This behavior is normal, especially since this pod of killer whales specializes in eating dolphins. Killer whales eat a meat-based diet, but the prey they choose depends on what part of the world they live in. So, for the orcas that cruise the area, eating dolphins is about a combination of opportunity and interest, Marino explained. The orcas are playing and teaching their youngA female killer whale and her newborn calf in Grays Harbor near Westport, Washington.
Persons: they've, Domenic Biagini, Lori Marino, Marino, Biagini, Candice Emmons, they're Organizations: Service, The, Sanctuary, San, NOAA Fisheries, Reuters Locations: San Diego, New Zealand, Southern California, Grays Harbor, Westport , Washington
Egyptian paleontologists found a new, extinct whale species, about the size of a bottlenose dolphin. It is the smallest known whale of the extinct basilosaurids family, says the scientists' new study. The species is named "Tutcetus rayanensis," after King Tutankhamun, an ancient Egyptian Pharoah. It's named in part "Tut" for the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun or "King Tut," who died at 19, since researchers believe the specimen found had also not yet reached full maturity. Antar and the MUVP did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside regular business hours.
Persons: King Tutankhamun, It's, Tutankhamun, Tut, rayanensis, Mohammed S, Antar, doesn't, Erik R, CNN there's, Seiffert Organizations: Service, Biology, Smithsonian, Vertebrate Paleontology, CNN, University of Southern Locations: Wall, Silicon, Egypt, University of Southern California
The find is also the oldest fully aquatic whale found in Africa, according to a new study. Tutcetus rayanensis is a member of the extinct family of early whales known as basilosauridae — the first widespread group to become fully aquatic. The discovery of the whale fossil led to the establishment of a new genus within the basilosauridae family. The area is one of the world’s “most productive fossil whale sites,” according to the study. Tutcetus rayanensis is the second whale species, following Phiomicetus anubis, to be discovered, described, and named by Egyptian paleontologists,” Antar said via email.
Persons: Pharaoh Tutankhamen, rayanensis, , Mohammed S, Antar, ” Antar, paleobiologist Nicholas Pyenson, wasn’t, Abdullah Gohar, Mohamed Sameh, Hesham, Whales, Erik R, Seiffert, Carlos Mauricio Peredo, Hesham Sallam Organizations: CNN, Communications, Vertebrate Paleontology, Smithsonian National Museum of, Egypt's, University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Miami University in, American University Locations: Egypt, Africa, Washington , DC, Mansoura, Wadi, Miami University in Oxford , Ohio, Cairo
CNN —The International Whaling Commission released its first-ever extinction alert Monday to warn of the potential danger facing the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The scientific committee believes the vaquita population has a chance of recovery if stronger enforcement is placed on the ban on gillnets in their habitat. The vaquita population has varied from a few thousand to 5,000 over the last 250,000 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But maintaining a small population for so long has actually helped the vaquitas, which have a 21-year lifespan, reducing the risks of inbreeding because they have less genetic variation among them. The marine mammals are also less susceptible to harmful genetic mutations that might otherwise cause their offspring to die.
Persons: ” Vaquitas “, Kate Wilson, ” Kirk Lohmueller, CNN’s Kristen Rogers Organizations: CNN, Whaling Commission, International Union for Conservation, IWC, Gulf of, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, University of California Locations: Gulf of California, Mexico, Gulf, China, Mexico’s Gulf of California, Cortez, Los Angeles
A mother and calf vaquita, a critically endangered small tropical porpoise native to MexicoÕs Gulf of California, surface in the waters off San Felipe, Mexico in this handout picture taken in 2008. Paula Olson/NOAA Fisheries/Handout via REUTERS/ File PhotoMEXICO CITY, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The International Whaling Commission (IWC) said on Monday it has issued an extinction alert for the endangered vaquita porpoise, whose population is estimated to have shrunk to less than a dozen, marking the institution's first-ever extinction warning. The critically endangered vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise and native to Mexico's Gulf of California, has been imperiled by illegal gill net fishing for an endangered fish called the totoaba, whose bladder is highly valued in Asia. The alert, the IWC said, stems from its belief that a new mechanism is needed "to voice extinction concerns for an increasing range of cetacean species and populations." "The extinction of the vaquita is inevitable unless 100% of gillnets are substituted immediately with alternative fishing gears that protect the vaquita and the livelihoods of fishers," it said.
Persons: Paula Olson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: NOAA Fisheries, REUTERS, Whaling Commission, IWC, U.S, Carolina, Thomson Locations: MexicoÕs Gulf of California, San Felipe, Mexico, MEXICO, Mexico's Gulf of California, Asia, U.S
Whale fossil may be the heaviest animal ever
  + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +7 min
CNN —A colossal ancient whale discovered in Peru might be the heaviest animal on record, according to a new study. What’s more, Perucetus likely weighed two to three times more than the blue whale, which today weighs a maximum of 149.6 metric tons (330,000 pounds). Giovanni Bianucci“Discoveries of such extreme body forms are an opportunity to re-evaluate our understanding of animal evolution,” wrote J.G.M. “It seems that we are only dimly aware of how astonishing whale form and function can be,” they added. The lifestyle of a colossal whaleThe findings suggest that gigantism or peak body mass among cetaceans had been reached around 30 million years earlier than previously thought, according to the study.
Persons: Giovanni Bianucci, , ” Bianucci, Perucetus, , , Bianucci, pacificus, Mystacodon selenesis, Mario Urbina Schmitt, Schmitt, Thewissen, David A, Waugh, weren’t, Ingalls, Brown, ” Thewissen Organizations: CNN, University of Pisa’s, sirenians, Peru “, National University of San, Ohio Medical University Locations: Peru, Italy, Ica, Peruvian, National University of San Marcos, Lima
“We’ve never seen so many of them so early in the season and we strongly believe it’s because of the better weather. Their annual round-trip journey between June and early September covers up to 6,214 miles (10,000 kilometers). Humpback whales spend their summers feeding in sub-tropical waters, where they also mate and give birth, according to Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment. Humpback meets kayakOne kayaker had a particularly close-up view in an encounter that was captured by a drone. In the stunning footage, an enormous humpback follows a white kayak in turquoise clear waters off Bondi beach.
Persons: Steve Trikoulis, , Hervey, , ” Trikoulis, “ We’ve, We’ve, Australia –, Jason Iggleden, Iggleden Organizations: CNN, Organization for, Rescue, Australia’s Department of Agriculture Locations: Bondi, New South Wales, Queensland, Hervey Bay, Antarctica, Australia, Water, Bermagui, Sydney
The calls came in, one after the other, with reports of sea lions swaying their heads back and forth, foaming at the mouth, or slumped, lifeless on the beach. Rescuers along the central California coast struggled to keep up as they captured the sick animals in the hopes of saving them. Already, hundreds of sea lions and dozens of dolphins had died. “It’s been really sad,” said Michelle Berman Kowalewski, a biologist and the director of the Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, a nonprofit that has been responding to the beached dolphins. Algal blooms are not uncommon, but Ms. Berman Kowalewski said that, even in a bad year, she might respond to 30 to 40 poisoned dolphins.
Persons: they’ve, “ It’s, , Michelle Berman Kowalewski, Berman Kowalewski Organizations: Islands, Research Locations: California, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo County
The waters off New Zealand 25 million years ago were home to early baleen whales, megatooth sharks and human-size penguins. Now researchers are adding a bizarre dolphin to the mix that may have used tusklike teeth to thrash prey into submission. “Mentally, I just couldn’t figure out what could possibly need teeth like that,” Dr. Coste said. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Dr. Coste and her colleagues described the snaggletoothed dolphin as a unique species, Nihohae matakoi. The curious cetacean’s genus, Nihohae, is a combination of the Maori words for “teeth” and “slashing.”
Persons: Amber Coste, Coste Organizations: New Zealand, University of Otago, Royal Society B Locations: New, Otago
Orcas also have very wrinkly brains, which enables them to think and process information quickly. Orca and human brains are very similarHuman brains and orca brains have similar regions that make both animals highly sociable, empathetic, and intelligent. Joel W. Rogers/Getty ImagesAn orca's brain is five times larger than a human's, but it has many of the same structures that ours do. In fact, the paralimbic system in orca brains has much more intricate folding and detail than human brains do. Now imagine an orca's brain which is five times larger and has way more wrinkles.
Persons: Orcas, , They've, Joel W, Lori Marino, Serge Melesan, orcas, Gerard Soury, It's, Marino, South Africa —, Matthew Horwood Organizations: Service, Rogers, The, Sanctuary, Orca Network Locations: South Africa
No one knows what all the sperm whale codas mean, but they can have distinctive rhythms and tempos, known as “dialects,” Hersh said. They’ve now determined that there are at least seven distinct sperm whale “vocal clans” across the Pacific Ocean, each with their own identity codas, Hersh said. And the sperm whale clans may be thousands of years old. Beguš is part of Project CETI — the Cetacean Translation Initiative — which was established last year to decipher the sounds of sperm whales. “As the authors note, we still understand little about the function of sperm whale codas,” she said in an email.
A study from Australia is the first to scientifically document blue whales' killings by orcas. Orcas were observed devouring the nutrient-rich tongues of the giant blue whales. It includes details of how the killer whales swam inside the mouth of the enormous whales to eat their nutritionally rich tongue just before they died. A few weeks later, the next attack occurred when a blue whale calf was targeted. The final attack recorded by the study was on a 45-foot-long blue whale, chased for 15 miles in a 90-minute hunt.
Persons: orcas, Orcas, , Jeff Foott, Robert Pitman, It's Organizations: Service, Mammal, Cetrec WA, Oregon State, Mammal Institute, Geographic Locations: Australia, Western Australia
Imagini inedite au fost surprinse de locuitorii din Veneția pe cunoscutul Canal Grande. Doi delfini au fost zăriți înotând în apele limpezi ale celebrului oraș italian. Cele două mamifere din subspecia delfinilor dungaţi au fost filmate în timp ce înotau în acel canal luni dimineaţă, potrivit organizației specializată în intervenţii de urgenţă CERT (Cetacean strandings Emergency Response Team), cea care s-a ocupat și de ghidarea lor înspre larg. Se pare că delfinii au fost dezorienți. Potrivit observatornews, este neobişnuit ca delfinii dungaţi să se aventureze în nordul Mării Adriatice, întrucât exemplarele din această subspecie „preferă apele adânci, unde trăiesc în grupuri mari”.
Organizations: Canal Grande, Doi Locations: Veneția, italian, Mării Adriatice
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