whale

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Whale Fossil Provides Clues on Human Origins

Discovery sheds light on when uplift of African continent began

(Newser) - An ancient whale with a bad sense of direction is helping researchers figure out when the landscape of Africa changed in a way that drove the evolution of humans. The beaked whale in question apparently took a wrong turn into a river and swam into modern-day Kenya about 17 million...

Tourist Killed by Jumping Whale

Canadian woman fatally injured on Mexico tourist boat

(Newser) - A 35-year-old Canadian woman died from injuries suffered when a surfacing gray whale crashed onto a tourist boat, Mexican authorities say. The Baja California Sur state prosecutor's office says the collision with the whale about a mile from the beach resort of Cabo San Lucas tossed the victim into...

This Could Be World's Most Endangered Animal

Newly identified Gulf whale species lives in single canyon

(Newser) - A new species of whale has been identified in an underwater canyon in the Gulf of Mexico, but scientists fear they won't have long to get to know it: There are only about 50 of the unique species of Bryde's whale left in waters off the Florida Panhandle,...

Rare White Whale Spotted Off Australia

Migaloo is migrating to warmer waters for breeding: researchers

(Newser) - A celebrity albino humpback whale has been spotted for the first time this year off the coast of Australia. The famous Migaloo—who, until 2011, was the only documented all-white whale in the world—has been seen making his way north past Sydney on the country's east coast over...

Washed-Up Whale in Jersey Gets Tagged With Graffiti

Appears to be a fraternity name

(Newser) - A dead Minke whale that washed ashore in New Jersey suffered one last indignity: someone tagged it with graffiti. The whale, roughly 12 to 15 feet long, was discovered Thursday morning below Atlantic City's Central Pier. This looks like the work of a former frat boy rather than a...

Rotting Whale Might Not Explode After All

It's deflating, and museum says it will take it away

(Newser) - Residents of a Newfoundland town can breathe a sigh of relief: It looks like the carcass of a blue whale that washed up on the shores of Trout River might not explode after all. Officials feared it would , as gases swelled the creature's 81-foot-long body, but the whale has...

Whale Explodes All Over Researcher

Trapped gas inside causes biologist to get doused in gunk

(Newser) - Doesn't it just suck when you're trying to slice open a dead sperm whale, and it ends up exploding right in your face? That's what happened to biologist Bjarni Mikkelsen in Denmark's Faroe Islands this week, the New York Daily News reports. What was Mikkelsen doing...

Man Who Famously Blew Up Whale Dead at 84

George Thomas Thornton gained national attention in 1970

(Newser) - An Oregon highway engineer who famously blew up a dead beached whale with a half-ton of dynamite in 1970 died last Sunday at the age of 84. George Thomas Thornton gained national attention over the exploding whale, and the act endured for decades thanks to a video that shows giant...

Whale Stays by Trapped Buddy Until She's Rescued

And then performs spectacular jump when she's freed

(Newser) - Shortly into a whale-watching trip off the coast of Nova Scotia Sunday, tour guides learned of a whale in distress. The humpback, known as Foggy, was tangled up in fishing line and couldn't lift her tail, so Pirate's Cove Whale and Seabird Cruises called the Campobello Whale Rescue...

Whale Smacks Surfer Unconscious With Tail

Unexpected guest at Bondi beach makes a splash

(Newser) - Well-known surfing hazards: riptides, wipeouts, rocks, and newbies. Lesser known surfing hazards: whale tails. When a 32-foot whale decided to join the hordes of other tourists at Sydney's Bondi Beach, surfer Bishan Rajapakse learned about that one the hard way. Another surfer reportedly warned Rajapakse, 38, not to get...

Beached Whale Near NYC Dies
 Beached Whale 
 Near NYC Dies 
Dec 27, 2012 11:54 AM CST

Beached Whale Near NYC Dies

Endangered finback was emaciated

(Newser) - An endangered whale has died after getting stranded on a beach in a coastal enclave of New York City. Officials found the 60-foot finback whale dead today, says the National Marine Fisheries Service. The animal was first discovered yesterday morning beached on the bay side of Breezy Point, a beachfront...

Malibu Tows Rotting Whale Carcass Out to Sea

Smell bothered millionaires

(Newser) - Malibu's version of a nightmare is over: A tugboat has towed the carcass of a 20-ton fin whale some 20 miles out to sea and away from the beach where it was decomposing , reports the AP . The tugboat crew was hired by a homeowners' association that took matters into...

20-Ton Whale Carcass Rotting on Malibu Beach

Officials not sure what to do, as whale carcass too weak to move

(Newser) - There's something rotten on one of the most exclusive beaches in Malibu—and it looks a lot like a 40,000-pound, 40-foot-long fin whale carcass. The remains are decaying close to homes owned by Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan, and officials are at a loss about what to do,...

South Korea Ditches Whaling Plans

Outcry prompts shift to non-lethal study

(Newser) - South Korea has backed off its plan to resume lethal Japanese-style "scientific" whaling expeditions in its coastal waters, in the face of an international outcry, the Guardian reports. Instead, it will use non-lethal methods to study the massive mammals. The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, but...

Scientists Spot Earth&#39;s Rarest Whale for 1st Time
 Scientists Spot 
 Earth's Rarest Whale 
 for 1st Time 
in case you missed it
Nov 10, 2012 12:50 PM CST

Scientists Spot Earth's Rarest Whale for 1st Time

2 spade-toothed beaked whales beach selves in New Zealand

(Newser) - Scientists have come face-to-face with the rarest whale on the planet. Two spade-toothed beaked whales beached themselves in New Zealand in 2010, and a new paper describes researchers' identification and analysis of the creatures. "Up until now, all we have known about the spade-toothed beaked whale was from three...

Beluga Whale Tells Diver: Get 'Out'

A whale's song sounds eerily human, study says

(Newser) - It could be the muffled sound of singing in the shower or that sing-songy indecipherable voice from the Muppets' Swedish Chef. But scientists say it was a whale imitating people. In fact, the whale song sounded so eerily human that divers initially mistook it for a human voice. In a...

Dead 50-Foot Whale Found in Boston Harbor

Cause of death still unknown

(Newser) - A rare and unwelcome sight in the Boston Harbor: A dead finback whale was discovered floating in the harbor yesterday, and authorities are waiting for it to wash up on shore so they can examine the body and then dispose of it. The whale, more than 50 feet long, may...

Dead Whale Yields Golf Ball, Other Junk

But experts mystified as to what killed young gray whale in Puget Sound

(Newser) - A gray whale found dead in Washington state's Puget Sound had been scarfing down shrimp—and also a golf ball, woody debris, algae, pieces of rope and plastic, and some sort of flat spongy material. The garbage was minimal and not the cause of death, which remains under investigation,...

Whale Graveyard Puzzles Experts

Paleontologists ponder: Why are the fossils found together?

(Newser) - A newly discovered graveyard of ancient whales in Chile has scientists wondering how on Earth the bus-sized mammals all ended up dying in the same place. "That's the top question," says the director of a nearby museum. Their current location—the middle of a highway under construction...

Whale Does 'Thank-You Dance' After Rescue

Humpback seems to show its appreciation for freedom

(Newser) - This will bring a smile to whale fans: A humpback freed from fishing nets performed what one rescuer could only describe as a "thank-you dance." Again and again and again. A group from the Great Whale Conservancy freed the whale off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Afterward,...

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