Wild Cetacean News

Though this isn't quite a news segment... it is definitely interesting enough to share here.

Freshwater dolphin species and facts

Learn more about the charismatic animals swimming in rivers around the world.

Swimming through rivers in parts of South America and Asia is what one might consider an unexpected figure: the dolphin. It joins the ranks of the shark and the sea turtle as some of the oldest creatures on Earth. And while they're most commonly associated with oceans, dolphins—and porpoises—can actually be found in several major rivers on two continents.

River dolphins act as indicators of river health in the basins where they live. If the dolphin population in a river is thriving, then the overall state of that fresh water system is also likely flourishing. But if that population is on the decline, then it’s considered a red flag for the ecosystem as a whole.

WWF is the only organization working to safeguard all river dolphin species across the world. Under our River Dolphins Initiative, WWF collaborates with governments, communities, and other partners in countries with river dolphin populations to change policies and practices, address direct threats to the species such as bycatch and infrastructure, protect habitats, and bolster scientific research.

Here’s a look at river dolphins around the world, the challenges they face, and what WWF is doing to keep them around for the long haul.

Freshwater dolphin species and facts
 
Bottlenose dolphins being caught and killed in Western Australia trawl nets at ‘unsustainable’ levels

Between 11 and 17 dolphins killed each year, government says, though independent observers put rate as high as 50 a year

Bottlenose dolphins are being caught and killed in trawl nets in Western Australia’s north at unsustainable levels, a study warns.

The finding is based on analysis of the Pilbara trawl which supplies fish to the Perth market, targeting emperor, snapper, trevally, cod and grouper.

A report last year by the federal environment department indicated between 11 and 17 bottlenose dolphins were killed every year in the trawl’s bycatch.

Independent observers have previously put the rate as high as 50 a year in peer-reviewed research.

Bottlenose dolphins being caught and killed in WA trawl nets at ‘unsustainable’ levels
 
MPs in UK Parliament examine protecting whales and other marine mammals

The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee launches inquiry issues affecting marine mammals such as whales, dolphins and porpoises. The investigation by the Committee, which scrutinises the work of the government’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will cover marine mammals in UK waters and worldwide.

The aim is better to understand the role that the UK can play in protecting these creatures.

Whales, dolphins and porpoises are a group of marine mammals collectively known as cetaceans. During the 19th and 20th centuries many cetacean populations collapsed due to over-hunting.

https://committees.parliament.uk/co...e-protecting-whales-and-other-marine-mammals/
 
Ukraine invasion may have triggered dolphin deaths

Following reports a few weeks ago that military dolphins were being used by Russia as part of its invasion of Ukraine, it now seems that more dolphins may have been casualties in the ongoing war.

Scientists think that the increase in noise pollution caused by Russian naval activity in the northern Black Sea could be causing an unexpected increase in deaths of dolphins being found washed up along Turkish and Bulgarian shores, or trapped in fishing nets and gear in the region.

Ukraine invasion may have triggered dolphin deaths
 
Humpback Mothers Are Being Squeezed from Both Sides

Humpbacks prefer to keep their calves in shallow water, but increasing boat traffic is pushing them out to sea.

Every year between January and April, humpback whale mothers and their calves can often be seen in Hawai‘i’s warm waters. The adult whales flock to Hawai‘i from Alaska and British Columbia to breed and rear their young. To keep their calves safe, humpback whale mothers usually prefer to stick closer to shore. This lets them avoid sharks,
the potentially lethal advances of male humpbacks, and other threats. But as a new study shows, humpback whales’ habitat is being pinched between increasing inshore vessel traffic and the dangers of deeper water.

During the winters of 2005 and 2006, Adam Pack, a whale researcher at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and his colleagues observed the humpback whales off western Maui from a vantage point atop a nearby hill as part of a separate research project. They noted the positions of mother-calf pods and pods without calves (which mostly included lone whales or courting pairs), as well as the locations of whale watching vessels and other craft.

Humpback Mothers Are Being Squeezed from Both Sides | Hakai Magazine
 
Eavesdropping on the Secret Lives of Dolphins in New York Harbor

For two years, an array of six underwater microphones tracked the feeding noises of marine mammals newly prevalent in New York waters.

It’s a riddle. No one knows for sure why dolphins are being spotted more frequently and for longer periods in and around New York Harbor, the giant estuary where salty ocean tides mix with fresh water from the Hudson River.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj.../11/science/dolphins-new-york-harbor.amp.html
 
Podcast: New whale calls and dolphin behaviors discovered with bioacoustics

  • On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we take a look at two stories that show how bioacoustics research is helping us better understand the lives of marine mammals — and we take a listen to some of the recordings informing that research.
  • Our first guest is Erin Ross-Marsh, the lead researcher behind a study of humpback whales at the Vema Seamount in the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Africa. Ross-Marsh tells us about the study’s finding that these humpbacks were making gunshot calls, a type of non-song call that was previously unknown in these particular whales, and plays some humpback songs, non-song calls, and gunshot calls for us to listen to.
  • We also speak today with Sarah Trabue, a research assistant with the Wildlife Conservation Society who is the lead author of a recently published paper detailing the findings of a bioacoustic study of bottlenose dolphins in and around New York Harbor. Trabue tells us what the study reveals about dolphin behavior in the highly trafficked waters around New York City and plays for us some of the dolphin vocalizations recorded as part of the study.
Today we’re looking at two stories that show how bioacoustics research is helping us better understand the lives of marine mammals — and we take a listen to some of the recordings informing that research.

Listen here:

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...n-behaviors-discovered-with-bioacoustics/amp/
 
Two Orcas in South Africa Are Hunting Great White Sharks and Eating Their Livers, Research Finds

Scientists found that two killer whales are responsible for eight great white shark deaths near South Africa

Two orcas whales are hunting and eating great white sharks, according to new research.

A recent article in African Journal of Marine Science focuses on two killer whales researchers have discovered that hunt great white sharks off the coast of South Africa. The whale pair's appetite for great whites has sent the sharks fleeing out of the area.

https://people-com.cdn.ampproject.o...h-africa-hunting-great-white-sharks/?amp=true
 
Recertification of Lobster Fishery Would Harm Right Whales, Mislead Consumers 

Groups object to MSC certification of lobster fishery with risk of entangling critically endangered right whales

Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups acted today to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale by formally objecting to a determination that the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery should be recertified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standard. MSC certification is widely recognized in grocery stores with a “blue fish tick” ecolabel.

The Gulf of Maine lobster fishery had its MSC certificate temporarily suspended in 2020 after a federal judge ruled that the U.S. government had violated the Endangered Species Act in authorizing the fishery. The certification was reinstated in 2021 after the development of new management measures, even though the fishery still posed a direct threat to right whales.

Recertification of Lobster Fishery Would Harm Right Whales, Mislead Consumers 
 
Orca Pods Are Adopting Pilot Whales and No One Knows Why

A pod of orcas has been spotted accompanied by a baby pilot whale, with no other pilot whales nearby.

The pod of killer whales was spotted near Iceland this week by researchers with the Icelandic Orcas research program, but a similar phenomenon was observed in the summer of 2021 by the nonprofit group Orca Guardians Iceland.

According to a post on social media by the Icelandic Orcas group, the team was studying a group of playful orcas when they saw the baby whale.

Orca Pods Are Adopting Pilot Whales and No One Knows Why
 
Antarctica's Fin Whale Population Is Rebounding. Here's Why That's a Big Deal

Good news everyone! Populations of the second-biggest whale on Earth are rebounding in the icy south.

During the heights of industrial whaling in the early 20th century, fin whales seemed doomed. The statistics are grim: More than 700,000 fin whales were killed between 1904 and 1976, the year a catch quota of "zero" was instated. Even though the killing slowed (whaling nations such as Japan still caught fins for "research purposes"), surveys taken after 1978 showed the slaughter had driven the whales from their feeding grounds in the Antarctic -- essentially, the fin whale disappeared.

That, of course, was bad news. But the good news is a new round of survey data, collected during two expeditions in 2018 and 2019, shows populations are recovering, returning to their ancestral feeding grounds. The new research, published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday, also recorded aggregations of up to 150 individual whales feeding just off the coast of Antarctica -- a phenomenon not captured on video before.

https://www-cnet-com.cdn.ampproject...ion-is-rebounding-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal/
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Antarctica's Fin Whale Population Is Rebounding. Here's Why That's a Big Deal

Good news everyone! Populations of the second-biggest whale on Earth are rebounding in the icy south.

During the heights of industrial whaling in the early 20th century, fin whales seemed doomed. The statistics are grim: More than 700,000 fin whales were killed between 1904 and 1976, the year a catch quota of "zero" was instated. Even though the killing slowed (whaling nations such as Japan still caught fins for "research purposes"), surveys taken after 1978 showed the slaughter had driven the whales from their feeding grounds in the Antarctic -- essentially, the fin whale disappeared.

That, of course, was bad news. But the good news is a new round of survey data, collected during two expeditions in 2018 and 2019, shows populations are recovering, returning to their ancestral feeding grounds. The new research, published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday, also recorded aggregations of up to 150 individual whales feeding just off the coast of Antarctica -- a phenomenon not captured on video before.

https://www-cnet-com.cdn.ampproject...ion-is-rebounding-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal/
Click to expand...

Here is another relevant article.

Fin whale populations rebound in Antarctic feeding grounds

Southern fin whales have been documented feeding in large numbers in ancestral feeding grounds in Antarctica for the first time since hunting was restricted in 1976. The paper, published in Scientific Reports, includes the first video documentation of large groups of fin whales feeding near Elephant Island, Antarctica. The authors suggest that the recovery of fin whale populations could restore marine ecosystem nutrients and support the recovery of other marine organisms.

Fin whale populations rebound in Antarctic feeding grounds
 
Why do whales keep getting tangled in shark nets? And what should you do if you see it happen?

Australians have watched in horror this week as two separate humpback whales were tangled up in Queensland shark nets on the same day. These put the number of whales caught in Queensland shark nets to four this season – that we know about.

Worryingly, most humpback whales migrating north from Antarctica haven’t even passed Sydney yet. With more whales travelling to the warm Queensland breeding waters, this probably won’t be the last shark net entanglement we’ll hear about this year.

I’ve seen the reality of whale entanglement in shark nets firsthand, when I studied a humpback whale calf who died in a shark net a few years back. The animal autopsy (necropsy) conducted later confirmed the animal drowned. It was terrible.

So what are shark nets exactly, and how do they harm animals?

Why do whales keep getting tangled in shark nets? And what should you do if you see it happen?
 
Experts fear end of vaquitas after green light for export of captive-bred totoaba fish
  • After a 40-year prohibition, international wildlife trade regulator CITES has authorized the export of captive-bred totoaba fish from Mexico.
  • Conservationists say they fear this decision will stimulate the illegal fishing of wild totoabas and that this will intensify the threats facing the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
  • Only around eight individual vaquitas remain alive; they regularly drown in nets set illegally for totoabas in the Upper Gulf of California, where the two species overlap.
  • The swim bladders of totoabas are sold in Asian markets at exorbitant prices because of their value as status symbols and their supposed medicinal properties.

    International wildlife trade regulator CITES recently decided to allow an aquaculture company in Mexico to export captive-raised totoabas, a large fish categorized as being in danger of extinction under Mexican law.

    To hear an audio reading of this article, listen here: https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...-for-export-of-captive-bred-totoaba-fish/amp/
 
Dolphin poo plays 'significant role’ in helping coral reefs survive, says new study

Dolphin poo could be the key to saving the world’s coral reefs, according to a new study.

Spinner dolphins, famous for their acrobatic marina displays, have some very special excrement. Their poo has “reef-enhancing nutrients” which are not to be underestimated, a report by Zoological Society London (ZSL) finds.

The dolphins are giving threatened coral reefs in the Maldives and Chagos Archipelago a helping hand by pooing in the shallow lagoons. Published this week, the study shows that the amount of nitrogen absorbed by spinner dolphins during their daily commute can improve coral reef productivity and resilience.

The species plays a “significant role” in supporting the vulnerable ecosystems in this region and scientists are calling for their protection.

https://www-euronews-com.cdn.amppro...in-helping-coral-reefs-survive-says-new-study
 
Killer whales hunt seal in Shetland mussel farm, drone footage shows

A SEAL being hunted by a group of whales attempted to seek sanctuary by hiding in a mussel farm – and it was all captured on camera.

A drone recorded “extra special” and “insightful” footage of the harbour seal, which was being hunted by a pod of eight orcas.

In an attempt to escape them, the seal sought to conceal itself between two lines of mussel ropes at the Grunna Voe mussel farm, which is to the north of Lerwick, Shetland.

When it left its hiding place and headed for open water, it was caught and killed by the whales.

'Extra special' drone footage sees killer whales hunt seal in Shetland mussel farm
 
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