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Marine Mammals

September, 2011

  • 3 September

    Southern right whale ‘close to extinction’

    Via Wikipedia

    The southern right whale is close to extinction in NSW waters and needs protection, the state opposition says. A report by the independent NSW Scientific Committee says there could be as few as 10 of the whales left in the state”s waters, opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley said on Saturday…

  • 2 September

    Dolphin found shot dead on Bulgarian Black Sea beach

    Photo by BNT

    A Black Sea dolphin has been found shot dead on a beach near Bulgaria”s Coral campsite, Bulgarian National Television said on September 1 2011. Black Sea dolphins are a protected species, while the country”s Penal Code criminalises cruelty to animals. Bulgarian National Television said that the incident had caused outrage …

August, 2011

  • 30 August

    What is killing killer whales?

    Via Wikipedia

    Killer whales, the ocean”s fiercest predators, are easily recognisable by their black and white markings. But their future seems less clearly defined. Marine experts are concerned about an invisible threat to the animals that has been building in our seas since World War II. That was when industries began extensively …

  • 28 August

    Famine threatens Australia’s gentle sea cows

    Via Wikipedia

    An underwater famine is posing the latest threat to one of Australia”s most endangered marine species, the dugong, which lives entirely on sea grass. At least 100 have starved to death in recent months and many more are likely to follow in the absence of their only food source. Torrential …

  • 26 August

    Female seals drawn to deadly ship propellers because they sound like male mating call

    Lloyd k Barnes - Flicker

    Female seals who suffered mysterious “corkscrew” injuries were drawn into ship propellers because the blades produce the same acoustics as a male seal”s mating call, scientists believe. Experts at the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University had previously suspected that ships were responsible for killing the seals in …

  • 18 August

    Mekong River dolphin population on the brink of extinction

    Photo credit: David Dove / WWF Greater Mekong

    The Irrawaddy dolphin population in the Mekong River is at high risk of extinction, with numbers estimated at 85 and the survival of new calves very low, WWF said on Wednesday. Fishing gear, especially gill nets, and illegal fishing methods involving explosions, poison and electricity all appear to be taking …

  • 14 August

    Japan considers canning whaling program

    Japan”s powerful Fisheries Agency has publicly floated the idea of ending the country”s controversial whaling program. A report by an official agency panel has raised the option stopping the whaling program, saying constant harassment by the militant Sea Shepherd conservation group has made whaling too dangerous for Japanese crews…

  • 13 August

    Government urged to help save endangered pink dolphins

    Via Wikipedia

    Several environmental protection groups gathered Saturday in front of Taipei Guest House, across from the Presidential Office, to call on the government to take immediate action to save the “critically endangered” pink dolphin. The pink dolphin, also known as the Indo-Pacific dolphin, is a humpback species that inhabits the waters …

  • 9 August

    Queensland dugongs ‘starving to death’

    Via Wikipedia

    More dugongs have died this year than in all of 2010 because of Queensland”s summer of disasters. Ninety-six of the sea mammals washed up dead on the state”s coastline in the first seven months of this year, compared with 79 for the whole of last year. Environment Minister Vicky Darling …

  • 4 August

    Was pollution responsible for mass stranding of pilot whales?

    Via Wikipedia

    Scientists are probing whether pollution may have caused 70 pilot whales to strand in north west Scotland last month. The whales may have been poisoned by years of toxic waste. Experts have now asked the UK government for £20,000 to carry out the first such major diagnostic tests on a …

  • 2 August

    Competition with humans responsible for decline of New Zealand’s endangered sea lions, study shows

    Phocarctos hookeri - Via Wikipedia

    Marine researchers in New Zealand have identified the direct impact of fishing as the largest known human factor in the decline of the endangered native sea lion population. The team”s findings, published in Mammal Review, discount non-human factors, such as disease and identifies resource competition and by-catch incidents as the …

  • 1 August

    Scientists name world’s most important marine conservation hotspots

    A dead vaquita. Via Wikipedia

    Scientists have identified the 20 most important regions of the world”s oceans and lakes that are key to ensuring the survival of the planet”s marine mammals such as seals and porpoises. Their analysis also shows, however, that most of these areas are already under pressure from human impacts such as …