The Whale Spectator

25/02/2021

It’s a pretty magical thought that we can still be discovering new species of whales in 2021. Our oceans are a vast and mysterious place, surely with future discoveries to be had in the coming years.

Scientists analyzed the whale that was found stranded in Florida back in 2019 and were able to perform an examination of the skull, which was where the most significant differences were found in this new species compared to it’s closest relatives.

Genetic data was provided as a second line of evidence to support the uniqueness of the whale.

What is the name of this whale? Rice’s Whale. The name Rice’s whale is in honour of the renowned American biologist Dale Rice, who had a distinguished 60-year career in marine mammal science.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/new-species-baleen-whale-gulf-mexico

NOAA Fisheries announces scientific research paper that describes a new species of baleen whale in the Gulf of Mexico.

21/02/2021

You’ve heard of Block Watch for your neighbourhood, right? If you haven’t, Block Watch is a free, community-based crime prevention program. With that out of the way, it’s time to introduce you to Block Watch…but for whales.

Meet the team based in British Columbia (Quadra Island to be specific), that patrols the waters surrounding the Discovery Islands. Their mission is to monitor vessel traffic around whales and ensure local boaters respect the federal distance regulations.

Armed with lights and sirens, these folks observe high traffic waterways where whales and boats frequent, and will actively intercept vessels to prevent accidents with whales and to educate the passengers on current regulations in place to protect whales.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/10/15/news/straitwatch-your-friendly-neighbourhood-whale-police

The Quadra Island-based team is one of several in B.C. waters run by Cetus Research and Conservation Society, an organization that protects whales through research, education and direct intervention.

19/02/2021

Have you ever dreamed of whale watching from space?! Maybe you haven’t, but someone did and we think the idea is pretty awesome.

A Vancouver company is leading the charge to monitor endangered North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters from outer space in hopes to better protect them.

The goal is to prevent altercations with ships and fishing gear, the leading cause of death for the endangered right whales.

The space program is nicknamed, “smartWhales”, and will use satellite data to detect right whales and predict their movements.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7612540/right-whale-space-program-vancouver/

The goal is to help prevent interactions with ships and fishing gear, two of the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths that are threatening the endangered species.

17/02/2021

Researchers are aiming to teach a computer to recognize the sounds of killer whales to develop an early warning system to prevent boats from fatally striking whales.

We hope this can be expanded to help protect other marine species as well. Who says technology can’t be used for good too, right? Take that Mark Zuckerberg!

The goal is to detect whale calls automatically and send real-time alerts to ships to slow down or change course hours before orcas may be in their path.

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/researchers-aim-to-use-artificial-intelligence-to-save-endangered-whales-in-b-c-1.5230322

Researchers are aiming to “teach” a computer to recognize the sounds of resident killer whales in order to develop a warning system for preventing ships from fatally striking endangered orcas off British Columbia's coast.

14/02/2021

Whales are a global treasure. Now that is something we can all agree on. Not only are whales beautiful and magnificent creatures, they have a trait that is really important when it comes to fixing the climate crisis.

A single whale with an average lifespan of 60 years, stores about 33 tons of carbon dioxide. For perspective, the equivalent of a single whale would be about 1500 trees.

Hopefully this video helps continue to bring awareness to the beauty and value of having a healthy whale population in our oceans. A quote that resonates from this video, “We have to save the whales, because they are saving us.”

A concept called, “The Whale Pump”. In essence, the more whales in the ocean results in more abundance of plankton, which results in more carbon being absorbed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYBwHnz-yZE&feature=youtu.be

A humpback whale is worth $2 million. 🐋 The size of that number terrified even Ralph Chami, the economist who appraised the value of a whale. ↠ Subscribe: h...

13/02/2021

New blue whale song (population) discovered found in Indian Ocean!

Every blue whale population has it’s own unique song, which are very low-pitched and recognizable songs. Researchers believe they have discovered a new song…meaning a new population in the western Indian Ocean.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-population-blue-whales-emerges-singing-indian-ocean-180976650/

Scientists have identified a previously unknown blue whale song, suggesting that a distinct population had long gone undetected

10/02/2021

We are absolutely amazed with the whale footage in this 45-minute YouTube video.

At the 3:20 mark in this film there is breathtaking footage of a gray whale mother with it’s newborn gliding through the shimmering blue water. Wow!

What was your favourite scene in this film? We want to know! Reply back and share your thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTsXfGVjm1w&feature=youtu.be

This film is a compilation and story of the very best whale watching encounters I had in 2020. Narrated by Domenic Biagini and filmed by:Domenic Biagini ...

08/02/2021

The newest edition of our newsletter is published! 😊

The brief: Whale watching from outer space, block watch for whales, a new species discovered, and sleeping s***m whales. Let’s go!
https://whalespectator.com/issue-03/

Whale watching from outer space?! 🐋 🚀 Issue #003 THE BRIEF Whale watching from outer space, block watch for whales, a new species discovered, and sleeping s***m whales. Let’s go! THE RUMOUR KRILL Monitoring Right Whales from Space... Have you ever dreamed of whale watching from space?! Maybe...

21/01/2021

The latest issue of our newsletter is here! 😁
The brief: Deep dive with giants, whales can solve our climate crisis, and artificial intelligence is helping save endangered whales. Enjoy!

https://whalespectator.com/issue-02/

Whales are saving the world… 🐋 🌎 Issue #002 THE BRIEF Deep dive with giants, whales can solve our climate crisis, and artificial intelligence is helping save endangered whales. Enjoy! POD TALK Deep Dive with Giants by Maria Polegatto Our first reader-submitted content to be featured! And wow...

30/12/2020

UPDATE: Our first issue of the Whale Spectator newsletter is launching in January! We couldn't be more excited to bring you all of the best, most interesting whale content by email on a consistent basis. 🐋

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15/12/2020

07/12/2020

Thank you for checking out our page! Please sign up for our free email newsletter, we will be sending the first issue very soon!

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Website coming soon! 😊

07/12/2020