Cetaceans

The body of a humpack whale lies on a beach in Brigantine N.J., after it washed ashore on Friday, January. 13, 2023Photo: Wayne Parry (AP)Several New Jersey environmental groups are defending offshore wind development after seven dead humpback and sperm whales washed up along New York and New Jersey coasts in the past month.Last week, environmental group Clean Ocean Action called for a pause in ocean-floor preparation work for future wind projects. The group and other supporters called on President Joe Biden to…

A common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)A new study suggests dolphins can suffer from some of the same brain ailments as humans. Scientists in Scotland say they’ve found evidence across three species of dolphins that their brains can develop the classic markers of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings could help explain why dolphins regularly become stranded on land, but more research will be needed to confirm whether they trulyexperience Alzheimer’s-like illness.Alzheimer’s disease…

An orca leaps out of the water near a whale-watching boat in the Salish Sea in the San Juan Islands, Washington in 2015. Photo: Elaine Thompson (AP)A mayor and city council in the Pacific Northwest are hoping to help a group of endangered orcas by formally declaring that these marine mammals should have legal rights. The city of Port Townsend, Washington​​ has proclaimed that Southern Resident Orcas, a sub-group of orcas that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, should have certain legal rights. The…

Drone footage captured on May 16 proves what biologists in South Africa have long suspected: a group of killer whales (Orcinus orca) is systematically hunting and killing great white sharks off the coast of the country.Separate observations by a helicopter pilot indicated that two or three great whites were killed by a group of orcas over a 71-minute period. The drone footage shows five killer whales, one of which is Starboard, a male orca previously suspected of killing several great whites alongside an accomplice named…

In case you didn’t know, the U.S. Navy has militarized sea mammals that help identify undersea mines, defend against enemy swimmers, and protect about a quarter of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Recently, a team of researchers equipped some of the Navy’s dolphins with cameras and captured some remarkable footage of the cetaceans hunting and feeding.Though the dolphins are part of the Navy, they are allowed to do open-water swimming. The recent project witnessedsix bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) catching over 200…