WHALES AHOY - DARWIN DAILY

Whale meet nations in flare up over Brazil project

Sep 12, 2018 (AFP)

The meeting erupted into rancor over attempts to forge a common vision for the 72-year-old organization, which is torn between pro- and anti-whaling countries. ...

IWC vote backs aboriginal whale hunts -- with new quotas

Sep 12, 2018 (AFP)

The vote confirmed a long-standing commitment to so-called aboriginal subsistence whaling (ASW) for nutritional and cultural reasons -- an exception to the deca...

Pro-hunting nations block whale sanctuary bid

Sep 11, 2018 (AFP)

The South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary was backed by 39 countries with 25 voting against and several countries not casting a ballot, and so failed to get the requir...

Nations lock horns as whalers, opponents meet in Brazil

Sep 10, 2018 (AFP)

Brazil's Environment Minister Edson Duarte told the opening session it was "time for progress, not setbacks," reminding delegates of their "duty to give definit...

Pro- and anti- whaling nations brace for battle in Brazil

Sep 09, 2018 (AFP)

Tokyo heads into the biennial meeting as chair of the 88-nation body determined to shake-up what it says is a dysfunctional organization mired in dispute and un...

Unfit for porpoise: Naughty dolphin causes French beach ban

Aug 27, 2018 (AFP)

Roger Lars, mayor of Landevennec, on the western tip of Brittany, issued a ban on voluntarily approaching within 50 metres (yards) of the dolphin and outlawed b...

Beluga whales, narwhals experience menopause

Aug 27, 2018 (UPI)

Humans and whales are the only animals known to go through menopause. Scientists have previously shown killer whales and short-finned pilot whales also experien...

Japan fleet catches 177 whales in latest hunt

Aug 22, 2018 (AFP)

The three-ship mission returned home as Tokyo prepares to make its case to resume commercial whaling at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) ...

'Devastating' dolphin loss in Florida red tide disaster

Aug 15, 2018 (AFP)

More than 100 tons of dead sea creatures have been shoveled up from smelly, deserted beaches in tourist areas along Florida's southwest coast as a result of the...

Icelandic wildlife group calls for hybrid whale killing probe

Aug 09, 2018 (AFP)

The mammal which was harpooned and slaughtered by the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf on July 7 was a hybrid of a blue whale and a fin whale. Iceland is the...

UB psychologist proposes whales use song as sonar

Aug 06, 2018 (SPX)

With such quantifiable popularity, you might ask, "Who doesn't love listening to whale song?" One surprising answer might be, "whales," according to an intrigui...

Australia to 'vehemently' oppose Japan push to ease whaling ban

Aug 02, 2018 (AFP)

Japan has regularly sought an easing of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) prohibition on commercial whaling and continues to kill the animals under w...

Whale killed by Iceland fishermen was not protected species: institute

Jul 19, 2018 (AFP)

The whale which was harpooned and landed at an Icelandic whaling station on July 7 was a hybrid between a blue whale and a fin whale, the Marine and Freshwater ...

Outrage as Iceland fishermen kill rare whale

Jul 14, 2018 (AFP)

"There has not been a blue whale harpooned by anyone for the last 50 years until this one," Sea Shepherd, an international non-profit marine conservation moveme...

Romans may have hunted Mediterranean whales to near-extinction

Jul 11, 2018 (UPI)

Researchers recovered the ancient whale bones from the ruins of a Roman fish processing factory located near the Strait of Gibraltar. DNA and collagen analysis ...

Japan to seek partial resumption of commercial whaling

Jun 27, 2018 (AFP)

Tokyo has regularly sought the easing of the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling and continues to kill whales as part of what it calls a "scientific research...

Captive whales find new home as aquarium shows decline

Jun 26, 2018 (AFP)

Little White and Little Grey will be taken next year from Changfeng Ocean World to Klettsvik Bay, organisers told a press conference at the Sea Life London Aqua...

Faroese whaling 'ecological', 'respectful': minister

Jun 20, 2018 (AFP)

The "grindadrap", as the practice is known, has been blasted by animal rights activists as cruel and inhumane, but Faroese Fisheries Minister Hogni Hoydal insis...

Beluga whales pass first-ever marine mammal hearing test

Jun 20, 2018 (UPI)

Researchers had previously tested the hearing abilities of captive dolphins. Based on those results, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution expe...

Threatened whales and dolphins recognize predatory killer whales from their alarming calls

Jun 18, 2018 (SPX)

Knowing that some species, including birds and mammals, are capable of assessing the risk that they are under from predators in the vicinity, Matthew Bowers fro...