Articles by Cypress Hansen

Cypress Hansen is a science writer based in Central California. Find her at Cypresswritesscience.com and on Twitter @pollenplankton

Rare beaked whale sighting could be a world first for the species

by Cypress Hansen 14 January 2021

On a calm, cloudy morning in May 2019, a lookout on a research vessel lowered his binoculars and shouted, “Beaked whales! Beaked whales!” As Massimiliano Rosso, one of the scientists…

Nine of the 15 pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) autopsied for the study were emaciated when they died, zero were considered to be in ‘robust’ condition. Photo Credit: Inwater Research Group

Are industrial chemicals killing rare whales and familiar dolphins?

by Cypress Hansen 24 November 2020

Marine mammals stranded on beaches in the southeastern United States died with high levels of pollutants stored in their organs and blubber, researchers reported recently in Frontiers in Marine Science.…