Discussions Whales - Ask the Whale Expert (Whalenet) Lists Whales and Educational Resources (Whalenet) Provides a variety of educational links to whales and marine life. Materials Whale Sounds (Miller) Provides recordings of several whale sounds. Multimedia Whales, Blue (MSNBC News) Provides a video. News Complicated Animal Societies Challenge our Views (BBC News) "Blinded by the limits of our own imagination, historically we have found it difficult to envisage another entity [ocean mammals] with capabilities that rival our own." "Acknowledging that at least some animals are 'beyond use' brings forward implications spanning philosophy, law, science and policy." 12-10 Papers -Extremely Rare Whale Discovered (ABC News) "It was Rochelle Constantine, a marine biologist at the University of Auckland, and her graduate student Kirsten Thompson, who had conducted routine DNA analyses on the beached whales. 'I hope you’re sitting down,' Constantine said. Those animals stranded in December were not Gray’s. They were instead a pair of spade-toothed beaked whales. It was a name to make a certain kind of scientist weak in the knees: the most elusive species of whale in the world, known only from several bone fragments washed up over the course of 140 years. It had never been seen in the flesh before. Van Helden looked up at the ceiling and swore." 11-12 -First-Ever Discovery of Whale Bones on the Antarctic Seafloor (New.Yahoo.com) "For the first time ever, scientists say they have discovered a whale skeleton on the ocean floor near Antarctica. Resting nearly a mile below the surface, the boneyard is teeming with strange life, including at least nine new species of tiny of deep-sea creatures, according to a new study." 03-13 Narwhals (Whaleguide.com) "Narwhals have small rounded heads, short flippers with upturned tips, and no dorsal fin but an uneven dorsal ridge along the spine. Males are larger than the females, with largest whales reaching roughly 16 feet (4.9 meters). Skin color changes with age; newborns are blotchy slate or bluish gray, juveniles become completely bluish-black, adults are mottled gray and old narwhals are nearly all white." 03-11 Narwhals (Wikipedia.org) "he narwhal, Monodon monoceros is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the Beluga whale, the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight, helical tusk extending from their upper left jaw. Found primarily in Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters rarely south of 65°N latitude, the narwhal is a uniquely specialized Arctic predator. In the winter, it feeds on benthic prey, mostly flatfish, at depths of up to 1500 m under dense pack ice.[3] Narwhal have been harvested for over a thousand years by Inuit people in Northern Canada and Greenland for meat and ivory and a regulated subsistence hunt continues to this day. While populations appear stable, the narwhal has been deemed particularly vulnerable to climate change due to a narrow geographical range and specialized diet.[4]" 03-11 Supreme Court Rules Against Whales (SupremeCourtUS.gov) "The SOCAL waters contain at least 37 species of marine mammals.The plaintiffs—groups and individuals devoted to the protection of marine mammals and ocean habitats—assert that MFA sonar causes serious injuries to these animals. The Navy disputes that claim, not-ing that MFA sonar training in SOCAL waters has been conducted for 40 years without a single documented sonar-related injury to any marine mammal." 03-11 Whale Evolution (EnchantedLearning.com) Includes a description of the evolution of the whale. 10-00 Whales - Evolution (Thewissen) Describes whale evolution and includes early forms of the whale, including Pakicetidae, Ambulocetidae, Remingtonocetidae, Protocetidae, Dorudontidae, and Basilosauridae. 5-02 Whales - Humpback (Kids' Planet) Includes a description and a drawing. Whales Evolution (Enchanted Learning) "Primitive whales evolved during the early Eocene period, at least 53 - 54 million years ago. Fossil remains indicate that whales evolved from hoofed land mammals - perhaps the shore-dwelling, hyena-like Mesonychid that started a returned, bit by bit, to the sea roughly 50 million years ago." 04-12 Whales, Blue (A-Z Animals) "Blue Whales are the largest recorded mammal on earth some reaching nearly 120ft!The blue whale is found in pretty much all oceans but the whales tend to prefer the warmer waters." "The blue whale has been nearly hunted to extinction by man when eastern Asian whaling came into fashion a few of hundred years ago. There are less than 12,000 blue whales left worldwide." 01-09 Whales, Blue (Kids' Planet) Includes a description and a drawing. Whales, Blue (National Parks Conservation Association) Provides a drawing and basic facts. Whales, Blue (NationalGeographic.com) "Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and upwards of 200 tons (181 metric tons). Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. Their hearts, as much as an automobile." 03-12 Whales, Blue - Songs (NationalGeographic.com) "The haunting call of the blue whale is the most intense of any animal alive. These rhythmic pulses and deep moans are so loud they travel across entire oceans, yet the frequency of these calls is often so low that they are totally inaudible to human ears." 06-06 Whales, Bowhead (University of Alaska Fairbanks) "Bada found that most of the adult whales were between 20 and 60 years old when they died, but five males were much older. One was 91, one was 135, one 159, one 172, and the oldest whale was 211 years old at the time of its death. That whale, alive during the term of President Clinton, was also gliding slowly and gracefully through the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas when Thomas Jefferson was president." 04-12 Whales, Bowhead (University of Alaska Fairbanks) "The bowhead whale is second only in size to the mighty blue whale. Its enormous bow-shaped mouth, the largest mouth of any animal, contains a baleen measuring three metres. The 300 plates filter out the tiny crustaceans from the water which make up its diet. Discoveries of ancient ivory and stone harpoon heads in the flesh of individuals suggest bowhead whales may live for more than 100 years, possibly up to 200 years. This would make them the longest lived mammal known." 04-12 Whales, Humpback (National Parks Conservation Association) Provides a drawing and basic facts. Whales, Humpback (PBS.org) "Graceful and magnificent, humpback whales inspire awe in young and old alike. These marine mammals travel great distances to take advantage of the best breeding grounds and feeding spots. North Pacific humpbacks, for example, mate and give birth in Hawaii and then travel to Alaska each summer to feed." 06-06 Whales, Sperm (Wikipedia.org) "The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale (odontocete) having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter. The synonym Physeter catodon refers to the same species. It is one of three extant species in the sperm whale superfamily, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale." 03-11

Arabic, Chinese-Simple, Chinese-Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese,   Index, New, Search Engines, Dictionary, Bookstore, Licenses, Email Us, About Us, Link to Us, Sponsorships, or Privacy Policy.