marine mammals

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To Help With Hunting, Some Dolphins Use a Sponge
Strange Dolphin
Hunting Aid: a Sponge
Jul 16, 2025 10:30 AM CDT

Strange Dolphin Hunting Aid: a Sponge

They wear them to scrounge up prey, but it's harder than it looks

(Newser) - Some dolphins in Australia have a special technique to flush fish from the seafloor: They hunt with a sponge on their beak, like a clown nose. Using the sponge to protect from sharp rocks, the dolphins swim with their beaks covered, shoveling through rubble at the bottom of sandy channels...

Humpbacks' Eyes Might Explain Why They Get Caught in Nets

Researchers gain insight from eyesight

(Newser) - Researchers peered deep into the grapefruit-sized eye of a humpback whale and discovered one possible reason the animals keep getting tangled in fishing gear: Their eyesight sucks. It's worse than researchers expected and much, much worse than the eyesight of humans. Human vision is measured as 60 to 100...

Neurotoxin Turns Sea Lions 'Almost Demonic'

Acid in California's algae blooms is causing aggressive behavior, risk of death

(Newser) - Longtime surfer Rj LaMendola was riding waves off Oxnard, California, on Friday when he was attacked by a "feral, almost demonic" sea lion. As LaMendola tells the Los Angeles Times , the animal bit him, pulled him off his surfboard, and continued stalking him even once he managed to get...

This May Be the First Evidence of Narwhals Playing
The Narwal's
Signature Tusk
May Be Multipurpose
NEW STUDY
Mar 13, 2025 9:23 AM CDT

The Narwal's Signature Tusk May Be Multipurpose

It could have uses in foraging and play, in addition to mating

(Newser) - What is the point of a narwhal's signature tusk, which is actually just one, long spiraled tooth? The answer may be multifaceted, according to new research. Prior research indicates the lengthy tooth, rarely seen in females, is a sexual display, used to communicate a male's fertility —the...

Bird Flu Continues to Wreak Havoc, Killing Seals Worldwide

Tens of thousands of seals, sea lions have died, and scientists aren't sure how to slow the spread

(Newser) - Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don't see a clear way to slow the devastating virus . The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of...

One of Our Biggest Mammals Finally Gets a Sanctuary

Caribbean island of Dominica preserves about 300 square miles for nearly 3 dozen whale families

(Newser) - The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world's first marine-protected area for one of Earth's largest animals: the endangered sperm whale. Nearly 300 square miles of royal blue waters on the western side of the island nation that serve as key nursing and feeding grounds will...

Watch Out for This Surfboard-Swiping Sea Otter
Surfing Otter Eludes
Capture Again
updated
Jul 20, 2023 11:38 AM CDT

Surfing Otter Eludes Capture Again

Officials say 'Otter 841' has been aggressively going after surfers off of Santa Cruz, California

(Newser) - A sea otter that has drawn national attention for its unique ability to steal surfboards from surfers and then hop aboard them continues to elude capture, reports the Los Angeles Times . This week, for example, California wildlife officials went out to the otter's known area by boat and put...

Cruise Passengers Get a Gory Welcome to Port: the 'Grind'

Ship arrived in Faroe Islands as 78 pilot whales were being slaughtered, a centuries-old tradition

(Newser) - It's not a sight you especially want to see as your cruise ship pulls into port. But as Ambassador Cruise Line's Ambition approached Torshavn, the capital of Denmark's self-governing Faroe Islands, over the weekend, the water was red with blood, leaving passengers horrified. What happened on Sunday,...

Mexico to Track Down World's Most Endangered Sea Mammal

Search is on in Sea of Cortez for elusive vaquita porpoises; there may only be 8 left

(Newser) - Mexican officials and the conservation group Sea Shepherd said Monday that experts will set out in two ships in a bid to locate the few remaining vaquita marina, the world's most endangered marine mammal. Mexico's environment secretary said experts from the United States, Canada, and Mexico will use...

Scientists Surprised to Learn Whales Use 'Vocal Fry'

The marine mammals use it to help them find prey deep underwater

(Newser) - That low, rattling vocal register known as vocal fry—the Washington Post points to Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry as two examples of celebrities who have such gravelly voices—has proven a polarizing topic, with some insisting it's sexy, while others call it grating. But while the appeal of...

Since Russia War Began, These Creatures Are Dying in Droves

Scientists think loud noises from invasion may disrupt navigation of dolphins, porpoises, whales

(Newser) - The human death toll from the Russian invasion of Ukraine is believed to be in the tens of thousands so far. But marine mammals in the Black Sea, directly to the south of Ukraine, are also dying in droves, and scientists think the loud sounds that accompany battle are to...

When Dolphins Need Help, They Call Their Friends
A 'Striking' Find on How
Dolphins Communicate
NEW STUDY
Apr 27, 2021 10:34 AM CDT

A 'Striking' Find on How Dolphins Communicate

Allies recognize, respond to signature whistles, which are like names: study

(Newser) - If you want to be lifelong friends with a dolphin, you'd better have their back. New research shows male dolphins will race to assist other dolphins at the sound of their signature whistles—if they're part of the same alliance. The ground-breaking findings suggest dolphins have a concept...

Whale's Deep Dive Stuns: 'Not Supposed to Be Able to Do This'

Cuvier's beaked whale goes under for a record 3 hours, 42 minutes without coming up for air

(Newser) - It's a mystery how Cuvier's beaked whales go so long without a gulp of air. Based on its body size and metabolism, scientists originally thought the whale would need to resurface every 33 minutes. But one beaked whale just went seven times as long underwater—3 hours, 42...

Project Goes Higher to Keep an Eye on Whales

The plan is to monitor and protect them

(Newser) - An aquarium and an engineering firm in Massachusetts are partnering on a project to better protect whales by monitoring them from space. New England Aquarium of Boston and Draper of Cambridge say whale conservation needs new, higher-tech solutions to protect whales from extinction. So, the pair is working together using...

Out of Canada, 'News to Splash a Fin At'

'Free Willy' act, which would bar holding whales, dolphins in captivity, about to become law

(Newser) - "Breaking: Victory!" That was the exuberant message from Canada's Green Party on Monday, when the country's House of Commons passed a bill aimed at protecting marine life there. CNN reports on the "Free Willy" bill—named for the 1993 flick in which a boy "...

Off the West Coast, Gray Whales Are Starving to Death

At least 53 have washed up so far this year

(Newser) - Gray whales are starving to death in alarming numbers off the West Coast—and researchers aren't entirely sure why. So far this year, at least 53 dead gray whales have washed up on shores from San Diego to Washington state, a number only rivaled by a die-off in 1999...

Fossil of 4-Legged Whale Found in Peru

Scientists believe it swam like an otter

(Newser) - What's 13 feet long and has webbed feet with small hooves? It's a whale, according to researchers examining a 42.6-million-year-old fossil found near Peru's Pacific coast. The four-legged early whale, which could apparently move on land as well as in the sea, is the most complete...

1.1K Mutilated Dolphins Wash Up on French Shores

Deaths blamed on industrial fishing

(Newser) - The dolphins' bodies were horribly mutilated, the fins cut off. But what shocked French marine researchers wasn't just the brutality of the deaths of these highly intelligent mammals, but the numbers involved—a record 1,100 have landed on France's Atlantic coast beaches since January. The mass deaths,...

Illegal Russian 'Whale Jail' Investigated

Dozens of orcas, belugas seen in cramped pens

(Newser) - Some of the world's most majestic creatures are being kept in cramped conditions in an illegal "whale jail" in Russia, activists say. Prosecutors in the city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East opened an investigation after drone video was released showing dozens of beluga whales and orcas...

Today's Sperm Whales Descended From One 'Eve'

An ancient whale appears to be the mother of all modern sperm whales

(Newser) - While investigating samples of toxic levels of heavy metals found in sperm whales, researchers stumbled upon a surprising discovery: All of today's sperm whales appear to have descended from the same female, reports Hakai magazine. They've named her Eve and say she lived between 10,000 and 80,...

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