Cetaceans News

There were as many as 570 vaquita in the world back in 1997, but now there are fewer than 60 left — and the species is facing extinction in the…

In 2009, two marine biologists -- Robert Pitman and John Durban -- observed a series of strange events enroute to the Antarctic Peninsula: humpback whales would rush in to rescue seals that…

From September, Mexico will permanently ban the use of gillnets throughout the range of vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) in the upper Gulf of California. With just 60 individuals remaining in…

Between 2010 and 2014, more than a thousand common bottle-nosed dolphins washed ashore on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. These dolphin strandings were the “largest and longest cetacean…

overnments have been establishing enormous marine protected areas (MPAs) spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers where fishing is restricted. And the United Nations last June began work developing an…

An illegal trade in the swim bladder of the rare totoabas has placed both these fish and the world’s smallest and rarest marine mammal -- the vaquita -- at risk of extinction,…

Compounds from our makeup and bathrooms are winding up in the bodies of dolphins, sea otters, and polar bears – sometimes thousands of miles away. For the first time, research…

Hundreds of dead bottlenose dolphins continue to wash ashore, five years after the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Of the dolphins that have managed to…

A New Zealand dolphin, one of whose two subspecies, the Maui's dolphin, is critically endangered with a quickly diminishing population. Photo credit: Steve Dawson/NABU International Foundation for Nature. Maui's dolphins…

A fisherman hauls up a critically endangered vaquita porpoise accidentally entangled in his net in 2008. Entanglement in fishing gear threatens the species with extinction. Photo credit: Omar Vidal. With…

Vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) are more solitary than other cetacean species, but are sometimes found in small groups. Photo by: Paula Olson, NOAA. There are likely less than 100 vaquita (Phocoena…

Fishing industry propelling tiny cetacean to extinction Since the baiji was declared extinct in the early aughts, the vaquita has taken its unenviable position as the world’s most threatened cetacean.…

Norway has its biggest minke whaling season in over 20 years. As of late August, Norway has killed 729 northern minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) during its annual whaling season, the…

California or North Pacific Blue Whales can exceed 100 feet (30m) long and weigh 190 tons. Photo courtesy of Gilpatrick/Lynn/NOAA The population of blue whales in the Eastern Pacific has…

Southern elephant seals battle for mating rights. Photo by: G. Harris/WCS. Conservationists are celebrating the announcement that UNESCO has dubbed Argentina's Península Valdés a biosphere reserve under the Man and…

Although whales are the biggest animals on the planet, scientists have found in difficult to count them. But a new study in PLOS ONE may change this: researchers tested the…

Researchers have described a new beaked whale species. The beaked whale family, so-called for their dolphin-like beaks, are among the world's least known mammals. This photo shows a Blainville's beaked…

Taiji fisherman capturing a bottlenose dolphin. Photo courtesy of Sea Shepherd The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan ended on Monday with dozens being slaughtered for meat and captured for…

Three dead minke whales photographed by Sea Shepherd's helicopter. Courtesy of Sea Shepherd Australia. Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd said its fleet of ships has successfully disrupted the annual Japanese whale…

Orca at SeaWorld. Courtesy of Blackfish. More than 27,000 people have signed a petition calling on Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) to drop its partnership with SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:SEAS), over…

With the help of DNA tests, scientists have declared a new dolphin species that dwells off the coast of northern Australia. The discovery was made after a team of researchers…

Peruvian fishermen slaughtered dolphins to use as bait for shark fishing, an undercover investigation has revealed. Footage showed infant and adult dolphins being harpooned then stabbed and clubbed before, in…

An oil company's use of a high-frequency mapping sonar system was responsible for a mass whale stranding in northwest Madagascar in 2008, finds a new report. The report, issued today…

It sounds ludicrous, but it could just be true: scientists say seagulls may be responsible for hundreds of southern right whale mortalities off the Argentine coastline. Since 2003, scientists have…

Inside Moby-Dick's stomach, there's a lot more than Ahab's leg. What do children's toys, balloons, mattresses and plastic bags have in common? They can, along with more non-biodegradable pollutants, be…

Japan blamed environmental activists for a "record low" take during this year's whaling season in the Southern Ocean, reports Kyodo News. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said the…

Photo of the 'super mega-pod' by Antonio Ramirez, a passenger aboard the Hornblower Cruise that spotted the dolphins last Thursday. A 'super mega-pod' of some 100,000 dolphins was spotted off…

The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WFCC.org) runs from January 30 – February 2, 2013. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with…

The beaked whale family are among the world's least known mammals. This photo shows a Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris). Photo by: NOAA. In 2010, a whale mother and male…

Hector's dolphin, the parent species of the Maui's dolphin. Photo by: James Shook. The New Zealand government's recent efforts to protect the world’s smallest dolphin have come under scrutiny from…