Marine Mammals

September, 2018

• 24 September

  Migrating family of risso’s dolphins slaughtered in the cove

  

  This morning 7 Risso’s Dolphin were swiftly driven into the cove, where they met a heartbreaking fate. 
• 18 September

  First red cove day of the season: Taiji

  

  A small pod of dolphins were driven in to shore after 3 hours of fighting to get away, marking the beginning of the cove’s infamous annual dolphin hunt.
• 18 September

  Mum and baby dolphin die in mass stranding on Cornish beach

  

  Scientists estimate that only five to 10 per cent of animals dying at sea are washed ashore, so last year’s total of 250 could represent up to 4,980 animals.  
• 16 September

  Tens of thousands of walruses are stranded on this Alaskan beach

  

  Every fall, the animals find themselves stranded on beaches when there’s no ice left for them to set up shop. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last year’s haulout on the Chukchi Sea beach, which started in the first week of August, was the earliest on record.  
• 15 September

  IWC rejects Japan’s proposal to lift commercial whale hunting ban

  

  A Japan-led proposal to lift a 32-year ban on the commercial hunting of whales has been rejected by a global body for the conservation of the mammals.  
• 14 September

  Endangered orca J50 dead, says Centre for Whale Research, but scientists hold out hope

  

  According to a U.S. non-profit conservation group, the Pacific coast’s endangered southern resident killer whale population has dropped from 75 to 74. 
• 13 September

  Beluga whales adopt lost narwhal in St. Lawrence River

  

  An unusual visitor has been hanging out in the St. Lawrence River for the past three years: A narwhal, more than 1,000 kilometers south of its usual range. But the lone narwhal is not alone — it appears he has been adopted by a band of belugas. 
• 12 September

  Cruel 6 to 25 minute deaths of whales shot with exploding grenade harpoons revealed

  

  The report, which has been submitted to the IWC and, ironically, is intended to demonstrate the improvements in hunting methods instead reveals that almost 20% of the whales shot by grenade tipped harpoons suffer between 6 and 25 minutes after being struck by harpoon containing an explosive penthrite grenade before …
• 11 September

  Faroese dolphin slaughter: An eyewitness account

  

  Using fast, motorized boats, whale hunters force entire pods of dolphins to beach themselves in shallow water inside designated whaling bays. Sometimes, a pod is pursued for hours out at sea, just like in Taiji, Japan.  
• 7 September

  Endocrine disruptors found in bottlenose dolphins

  

  Bottlenose dolphins are being exposed to chemical compounds added to many common cleaning products, cosmetics, personal care products and plastics, according to a new study in GeoHealth, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.   
• 4 September

  Brutal Cape fur seal cull continues in Namibia

  

  This is the shocking moment when Cape fur seal pups (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) are beaten to death while trying to run into the water. Cape fur seal pups are massacred in Namibia from July to November. 
• 4 September

  Japan killed 50 whales in Antarctic protected area, data shows

  

  The disclosure of the cull, conducted under a legal loophole, comes as Japan seeks to further weaken a global ban on commercial hunts.