Endangered Porpoise Discovered

By sarajean on 7/15/10 9:37pm
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When humans discover a “new” species—which, of course, does not necessarily mean it’s “new,” just that it is new to us—it’s always incredibly exciting. We think we know so much, don’t we? But when it comes down to it, we know less about our own planet that we could ever possibly even dare to learn. That’s not a bad thing, I think; the mystery, the excitement, keep it such an amazing planet to live on, and we’ll always be wondering about “what’s out there.”

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Save the Whales, Boycott Japan

By dfunzy on 7/7/10 5:20pm
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Japan keeps slaughtering whales. The Japanese slaughter about one thousand whales a year — primarily minke whales — as part of a government-sponsored and financed program that the Japanese government claims is for so-called scientific purposes. People concerned about this slaughter rightly call it for what it is -- commercial whaling, which has been banned worldwide since 1986. Japan is thumbing her nose at the world.

Today, Wednesday, Peter Bethune, an antiwhaling activist from New Zealand, a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was convicted by a Japanese court of trespassing, vandalism, assault and obstructing Japan’s whaling fleet in the Antarctic. His sentence was suspended, and is expected to be booted out of the country

Various groups confront the Japanese whaling fleet to interfere with the whale hunts. These confrontations have led to some violence.

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High Levels of Toxic Heavy Metals Found in Whales

By Niki Fears on 6/26/10 2:37am
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A recent study has revealed the highest rates of toxic metals found in marine mammals to date are currently present in whales from all over the world; a troublesome sign for the health of the ocean and our own future.

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Japan Really, Really loves killing whales

By mous on 6/17/10 1:17am
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At least that's the impression one gets after reading about the extent to which Japan is going in order to secure votes at the IWC on its behalf to continue its barbaric practice of whaling, or “scientific research”, as they like to call it. Except this time Japan is being a bit more blatant about their motives. Japan is attempting to break a 24-year moratorium on commercial whaling and they are aggressively targeting smaller nations on the IWC to side with them by offering “aid” to countries who have seen their local economies suffer. Last week The Sunday Times broke the story that Japan has been bribing small impoverished nations like the Republic of Guinea for support on a proposal which would allow the killing of 1,800 whales per year, including two endangered species, fin and sei.

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The Most Adorable Anti-Whaling Video Ever

By sarajean on 5/28/10 4:38am
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I’m not a fan of using kids for causes. This is because, while at the March for Women’s Lives in 2004, I saw a few tiny tots—no higher than my knee!—jumping up and down, squealing, “Hey hey! Ho ho! George Bush has got to go!” And as much as it appealed to the (big) part of me that too wanted to see him go, and as cute as they were—they even had little drawings—I knew they probably had no idea what they were talking about, which bothers me.

However, this little guy—who is unbelievably adorable—seems to know what he’s talking about. When he gets to the part about Obama, though, I have to wonder if he’s being fed lines. I’m sure the probability of that is pretty high; after all, young children usually don’t pore over campaign videos, presidential promises, and whatnot. (It is, of course, very possible. I know plenty of kids who took on causes at an early age, including myself, and I’m sure the Internet has made it much easier to do so.)

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Gray Whale Sighted off Herzliya Marina, Israel

By lisala on 5/12/10 4:52am
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The gray whale or Eschrichtius robustus is one of the balleen whales that feeds on plankton it sieves through the balleen plates embedded in its jaw. There were three large populations of gray whales, but the North Atlantic gray whales were assumed to have been hunted to extinction in the 18th century, while the American population is fairly healthy, the Asian gray whales of the North Pacific are endangered. The gray is famous in particular for its extensive annual migration, the longest migration of any whale, and one of the world's longest migrations of any species in yearly round trip of 15,000-20,000 kilometers.

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President Obama, Please Don't Kill the Whales

By sarajean on 4/30/10 11:22pm
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Remains of a HumpbackRemains of a Humpback

Oh, Barack.

You know I love you. You know I cried both when you were elected and when you were sworn in. You know I defend you to my entire conservative family and my conservative friends, and that I appreciate the things you’ve done—over 100—that you did promise to do when office.

And as your supporter, I also forgive you when you forget promises that you made. But when your forget, I’d like you to please listen to us when we try to help you remember. For example, you promised to save whales and to not allow commercial whaling to happen when you were campaigning. Animal activists were so thrilled—I remember you even trying vegan food during your campaign, actually.

But now something has gone wrong. Your new position seems to be in support of commercial whaling, and of the Japanese methods of cruel whale killing as well. Please say it isn’t so!

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5 Stranded Whales on Pacific Northwest Beaches this Month

By becksta on 4/20/10 9:55pm
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Stranded WhaleStranded Whale
One of the greatest things about living in the Pacific Northwest are the whales. Unfortunately, 5 gray whales have been found stranded on beaches this month alone. While the number sounds high, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stated that 5-7 stranded whales are about average during the period of northern migration.


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Gray Whales Spotted at Ballard Locks, Seattle

By lisala on 3/30/10 10:09pm
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Returning from a weekend sailing trip, Diana Lind spotted two grey whales near the Ballard Locks Sunday afternoon. If you watch the video, you'll see both whales spouting. Notice the absence of a dorsal fin, suggesting that these are gray whales, and not orcas.

Pacific Northwest Orcas are Eating Chinook Salmon

By becksta on 3/17/10 9:18pm
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Orcas are Eating Chinook SalmonOrcas are Eating Chinook Salmon

Killer whales and Chinook Salmon are both protected species because of their dwindling numbers, but Pacific Northwest killer Orca whales are focusing their palates on the Chinook Salmon, making the recovery process for both animals more than a little interesting.

There are approximately 90 Killer Whales in the region who travel along the coast of the Pacific Northwest of the United States and southern Canada. If you have had the chance to travel in the San Juans of the United States and see them from the ferry, you know that the Orcas are not small- the killer whales weigh in at 6,000-12,000 pounds. The whales are not what I would call light eaters either- they eat “up to 300 pounds of fish a day”.  


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