All Multimedia. All Research. Read More. Species Name. Filter Results. This is great news for the whales, of course, but also for the climate.
Keeping carbon out of the atmosphere is key to tackling the climate crisis and the contribution that a single whale can make is something we need to take seriously. On average a single whale stores around 33 tonnes of CO2. If we consider only the Antarctic humpback whales that breed in Brazil, protecting this population alone has resulted in , tonnes of CO2 being stored in the deep sea. In , even the International Monetary Fund turned its attention to the startling economics of whale conservation.
As a whale biologist, for decades I have always remembered the tales told by old whalers in the communities I have lived and worked — from Shetland to the Azores, New Zealand and New Caledonia — where, back in the day, there were so many whales you could walk right across a bay on the backs of humpbacks. Or so they said. My experience in the Antarctic made me think of these tales and gives me hope that we can work towards recovery of other populations and species, for everyone to enjoy, not just the privileged few like me.
And each one is utterly unique: the pattern of white and black blotches on the underside of their tail fluke is as individual as a human fingerprint. Comparing our images with a global database of humpbacks, we were able to identify 49 humpback whales whilst on the Greenpeace expedition. The young can not dive deeply due to their need to surface frequently to take air. It is estimated that the historical population all over the world totaled 1.
Currently, there is no accurate accounting of the total number of sperm whales worldwide. The best estimate of the world sperm whale population is between , and , individuals. Ship traffic around the world is increasing. That increases the risk of collisions. Sperm whales spend long periods of time on the surface between deep dives. As a result, it makes them more vulnerable to collisions with ships.
Many different types of fishing gear, including trap lines, pots, and gillnets. These mammals can swim long distances by dragging the attached equipment. That can result in fatigue, compromised eating ability or serious injuries that can lead to death. Underwater noise pollution can interrupt the normal behavior of sperm whales, which depend on sound to communicate. Debris in the deep-scatter layer where sperm whales feed can be confused with prey and incidentally ingested, which could result in injury or death.
Blue whales are among the longest living animals on Earth. Your average life is estimated at around 80 to 90 years. The gestation period is approximately 10 to 12 months.
The average interval of delivery is probably 2 to 3 years. It was estimated that the total world population was between 5, and 12, specimens in It continued with that status until At least 1, blue whales died before the s in the waters of eastern Canada.
In the North Pacific, whaling of this species was prohibited in In the Antarctic region, the most optimistic estimates show a significant annual increase of 7. It appears as an endangered species in the IUCN Red List of endangered species and has been so since the creation of the list. In the case of the Antarctic subspecies, the larger one, its situation is even worse. It is rated as critically endangered. The highest known concentration of the species, with about individuals.
This is the Northeast Pacific population of the northern blue whale. It is estimated that the total population of the North Atlantic is between and individuals. In the Southern Hemisphere there seem to be two distinct subspecies, the Antarctic blue whale and the little-studied pygmy blue whale.
This is found in the waters of the Indian Ocean. Estimates of a work done in resulted in pygmy whales only in a small area south of Madagascar. If this is true, the global populations would be higher than those given by the initial forecasts.
The average life of a gray whale is 30 to 60 years. Gray female whales usually give birth every two or three years, and their pregnancies last twelve months.
According to an investigation in that population is individuals. This species, in critical danger of extinction, has experienced a hopeful recovery thanks to the collaboration of an oil company with scientists and conservationists to minimize the impact of its activity. This western population has had a very slow growth rate despite a strong conservation action over the years.
It will probably be due to its very slow reproduction rate. However, as of , the evidence has indicated that the western population is increasing significantly, especially on the island of Sakhalin. The population has been hunted extensively by commercial and aboriginal whalers, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Commercial whaling ended in , and gray whales were classified as endangered.
And in it was estimated that it reached 22, mammals. The gray whale population of the eastern Pacific was removed from the list of endangered species in And for countries like Japan and Norway, whaling is considered part of their culture - and they still hunt whales for commercial reasons. Now numbers are growing again, there are some calls for whaling to return. But conservationists say a growing population of whales is not enough of a reason for whaling to return, because whales are very intelligent creatures, and they believe hunting is unnecessary.
Blue whales are still an endangered species and there are thought to be no more than 25, living in the world today. Blue whales: Heartbeat reduces to 2 beats per minute when feeding.
How blue whales became so big. Antarctic blue whales tracked by their sounds. These comments are now closed. What is Remembrance Day?
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