Ancient Patagonian fossil sperm whale may have been active predator, reanalysis indicates
A recent study, published in Papers in Palaeontology, discusses the reanalysis of the only known Idiorophus patagonicus specimen.
News on whales
Capuchin monkeys develop bizarre 'fad' of abducting baby howlers, cameras reveal
On an island off the coast of Panama lives a population of wild primates with a remarkable culture. White-faced capuchins on Jicarón Island in Coiba National Park use stone tools; and scientists have been monitoring this ...
Plants & Animals
May 19, 2025
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Rare video captures following and biting courtship behavior in elusive whale sharks
Courtship and procreative behavior in many species of elasmobranchs—cartilaginous fish including rays, sawfish, sharks, and skates—may include following and biting. However, there has been little research on procreative ...
First successful test of wild minke whales reveals they have ultrasonic hearing
A team of marine biologists from Norway, the U.S. and Denmark has conducted the first hearing test of a live baleen whale. For their study published in the journal Science, the group corralled a pair of wild minke whales ...
Mysterious Pacific Ocean sounds identified as a type of whale—a new AI app helps track them
A team of oceanographers and marine biologists from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and Oregon State University has identified a mysterious noise heard in the Pacific Ocean for two decades as the sounds ...
New study suggests warming seas are negatively affecting beluga whales' aggregation patterns
Until recently, technology limitations have made it challenging to effectively study the aggregation behavior of beluga whales. As climate change continues and sea surface temperatures rise quickly, the ability to do so becomes ...
Female North Atlantic right whales growing smaller, leading to fewer births
A team of oceanologists affiliated from the U.S. and Scotland has found reductions in body size of female North Atlantic right whales is resulting in fewer births, endangering the species. In their study, published in Royal ...
Arctic Ocean soundscapes reveal changes in mammal populations in response to climate change
While the sounds of our oceans may be familiar to us through the lens of nature documentaries, from the haunting calls of whales to the barks of some fish, this acoustic environment can provide a wealth of knowledge to scientists ...
'Let's stop for a bite along the way': Why it's important to understand Arctic whales' migratory foraging habits
In the ocean, both natural and human-driven factors may cause ecosystems to undergo transformations. Such changes, whether sudden or gradual, can affect the food web by causing redistribution of prey upon which seasonal predators, ...
Lessons in longevity from naked mole rats and bowhead whales
Researchers at Nanjing Normal University, China, have investigated the genetic underpinnings of mammalian longevity in search of new strategies to extend human lifespan.
Whale
Whales are marine mammals of order Cetacea which are neither dolphins—members, in other words, of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae—nor porpoises. They include the blue whale, the largest living animal. Orcas, colloquially referred to as "killer whales", and pilot whales have whale in their name but for the purpose of biological classification they are actually dolphins. For centuries whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of valuable raw materials. By the middle of the 20th century, large-scale industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered.
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