A North Atlantic right whale and her calf (submerged at left) swam off the coast of Rhode Island. The sighting of the 98 whales set a record. (Pete Duley/Noaa via Associated Press)
This image taken with NOAA permit 774-1875 approached the right whale under permit 932-1905 to disentangle it. (Northeast Fisheries Science Center)
Looks like I'll be gone for a bit so I wanted to leave you with something life-affirming warmth for a change.
"Drop in gray whale population feared" by ASSOCIATED PRESS | April 12, 2010
LOS ANGELES — Whale-watching skippers became alarmed after sightings dropped from 25 a day in good years to 5 a day this season. Such anecdotal evidence has left conservationists and state officials worried about the whale’s future, especially now. The federal government’s monitoring of the mammals has fallen off in recent years.
Well, when you are paying for wars, banks, and lavish lifestyles for politicians there isn't much left for Willie..
"A whale-watch of vital significance; Crew studies leviathans to learn about their habits, habitat" by David Filipov, Globe Staff | April 13, 2010
OFF THE COAST OF PROVINCETOWN — Though they are protected today, the whales are constantly threatened by encounters with humans. Unlike other whales, they graze with such apparently single-minded focus that they often collide with vessels or become entangled in marine equipment....
Can't we share the sea?
Scientists are also concerned about the effect that climate change could have on the right whales....
That lie is the least of their worries.
The stocky, black whales are distinguishable from other species by their V-shaped spouts; they lack a dorsal fin, and their heads have distinctive, brownish, rough patches that allow researchers to identify individuals, said Karen Stamieszkin, a right whale scientist for the center.
“They are odd-looking animals,’’ she said.
And UNIQUE BIOLOGICAL BEINGS that DESERVE RESPECT!
Charles “Stormy’’ Mayo, who leads a small crew of scientists who are studying the North Atlantic right whale to learn more about the habitat and habits of one of the most endangered animal species on the planet, said many of the whales spend the winter farther from shore, and some come from as far as Florida, before arriving in the plankton-rich waters of Cape Cod Bay as early as late February....
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I went on a whale watch once. It was impressive; however, we didn't see much, it was much colder than one would think for a summer day, and I admit I got a bit nervous once land was no longer in sight.
Related: NOAA Takes Wrong Turn on Right Whale
A circular patch of smooth water spotted in Rhode Island Sound this week led scientists to a surprising discovery: a quarter of the entire North Atlantic right whale population is hanging out and feeding in a spot where the endangered animals are not usually seen.
Yes, life is full of surprises.
That tell-tale patch of water — a “flukeprint’’ generated when a whale pumps its tail up and down as it dives, roiling the surface in a distinctive way — led researchers doing an aerial survey to circle their plane to find a large cluster of whales in an unexpected location. In total, researchers found 98 whales in the waters east of Block Island, including two pairs of mothers and calves....
ALL RIGHT!!!!!
What almost certainly drew the whales to Rhode Island Sound, scientists said, was a good supply of copepods, microscopic shrimplike creatures. The whales, which often hover near the surface to feed, can be come so absorbed in sampling the water and eating when they hit on a rich supply of copepods that they are in danger of being struck by ships. Such collisions pose a serious threat to the whales....
Can't we all share this planet?
It's a huge ocean.
Right whales have distinctive “callosities,’’ wartlike bumps on their heads infested with whale lice, that can be used to identify individuals.
Can you tell their future by reading them, too?
And the individual thing implies a sentient, self-aware creature that deserves respect, folks.
Their presence has caused local boaters to be on alert....
Well, yeah. Capsize you quick.
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And they do not like you coming near (I can't imagine why):
Over the weekend, a team with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies used a unique new technique to free a right whale from a rope that ensnared its upper jaw.
Using a crossbow, the team cut the rope by shooting an arrow with four razor blades on its tip Saturday, said Scott Landry, director of the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Team. The whale was not injured.
“We did this because this species is notorious for two things: having wraps around their upper jaw, and being very evasive,’’ Landry said. “They really do not like to be approached. That makes disentanglement very difficult.’’
***********
The whale, a female nicknamed Wart, had a dangerous problem — rope wrapped around her upper jaw and zigzagged through her baleen plates, which filter food particles from water.
The team had tried to free Wart several times, and time was a factor, Landry said. The rope may have led to deadly infection.
Hope not.
The team’s disentanglement success rate for humpback whales is about 90 percent, Landry said. For right whales, it is about 50 percent because the animals are so evasive.
Wouldn't you be?
Wart was first seen with long lengths of rope trailing alongside her in March 2008. At that time, however, the rope was only in her baleen and had not wrapped around her jaw.
Some whales can live for months or even years with that type of entanglement, Landry said. It becomes dangerous when a body part is ensnared.
In January, the whale was spotted again. This time, the rope was wrapped around her jaw.
“That’s when we realized, ‘OK, intervention is absolutely necessary,’ ’’ Landry said. “Entanglements can kill a whale over time by cutting into the whale and introducing infection. We’ve seen quite a few right whales die of exactly this kind of entanglement.’’
But the seas were rough, and the whale was far from shore, Landry said. An intervention had to wait until the whale was spotted again.
That's a long time to be tied up for any creature.
That spotting came Saturday in the Great South Channel off Cape Cod.
Working under federal permit, Landry and his crew were able to get within 40 feet of Wart.
When Wart finally surfaced to take a breath, Landry knew he had just one second before she dove back underwater. He also had just one try.
“Truth be told, it was very difficult,’’ Landry said. “It all happened very quickly.’’
Landry shot the arrow. It zipped through the air, and one of the blades cut straight through the rope wrapping around the whale’s jaw.
Wart was not touched and did not seem to realize anything had happened, Landry said. But when she came back up from her next dive, she began opening and closing her mouth.
“She definitely noticed something had changed,’’ Landry said. “She had already begun to work the rest of the entanglement out on her own.’’
It looks as though she might be free.
At about 2 p.m. yesterday, an aerial survey team spotted a right whale they believe was Wart, Landry said. She had no rope around her jaw or in her baleen....
Dive! Dive!
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Also see: Making Willie and Flipper Go Deaf
Boston Sunday Globe Omissions: Shotgun Willie
And look what else I found while I was out there:
"Mass. fishermen dredge up grenades, clams
Authorities say Massachusetts workers sorting through a catch of sea clams found more than 100 hand grenades in New Bedford, triggering an evacuation of the area and a response from U.S. Navy bomb experts. New Bedford Police Lt. Steve Forand said on Friday that the explosives were found on Thursday. He did not have information on whether the grenades were live, how they ended up in the sea and for how long they had been submerged under water. Police say experts from the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group had secured the scene and were in charge of the situation Friday. A U.S. Navy regional spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment after business hours....
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Time for lunch, isn't it?
Better bring the Tums with me.
