There are more things in heaven and earth than we can understand.

But even when we don't understand, it's appropriate to admire, I think.

Yes, moms and dads at your wit’s end, constantly searching for a decent sitter who won’t monopolize the phone, screw up your TiVo and leave your house smelling like fried opossum—your solution is before you: the sperm whale!

As scientists have recently discovered, sperm whale mothers organize their babysitting sessions—much like human moms and dads do for carpooling—so they can take turns hunting for food. Apparently the commute of 2,000 feet below sea level to search for squid to eat is too much for whale tykes, so the mamas just take turns.

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I know we root for the whales here, at least whenever we can. But I can't help but feel glad for the little penguin guy catching a ride and making his clever getaway...

A rare blue whale has been found dead on a beach in New Zealand this week.   Blue whales are highly endangered,  with less than 2,000 thought to be left in the oceans.   The silver lining to this sad death is that the whale apparently died of old age, rather than being killed by any human activities or environmental changes.

The whale was found by a local fisherman who said that the whale measuring almost 90 feet was the largest he had ever seen.  Researchers are taking samples from the whale carcass in order to study more about the creatures,  although the whale's massive size means that it is not possible to transport the entire body.

Many types of whales and other large sea animals spend time in the warm South Pacific waters around New Zealand, and whale watching is one of the top tourist activities for the area, especially the South Island where blue whales, sperm whales, dolphins and seals can be spotted, often in large numbers.

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Though the right whale has thought to have been extinct in the area around Greenland by the scientific community for at least 200 years, underwater scientific microphones, or hydrophones, have detected a group of three of the endangered species in that very place last week.

With only a small surviving population of 300 to 400 right whales total, the number is considered significant.

Perhaps this migration can be attributed to the good news that erika reported earlier this month—that there’s been an increase in the population overall this year. With 40% of the species being wiped out by human hands—mostly through ship collisions—it’s remarkable that the last year may have marked the first period in which no right whales were killed by humans since the 1600s!

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May 17th marked the 10th anniversary of Makah tribal whalers pulling ashore the body of a 32-ton gray whale, taken in the first formal hunt in 70 years, at Neah Bay, on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula. Legal challenges since have prevented another such hunt, in spite of the deep cultural ties observed by members of the Makah tribe, and the life-changing nature of the 1999 hunt. Makah Whaler, circa 1900

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There's some excellent news about the endangered blue whale, this week. Blue whales seem to be re-establishing a regular migration pattern along the west coast of the U.S., as far north as the Gulf of Alaska.

The Marine Mammal Science journal published research documenting fifteen individual blue whales identified between B.C. Canada and Alaska. These would have been regular seasonal territorial waters for the blue whale, before commercial whaling drove the species to the brink of extinction.

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Everybody and his cross-dressing brother want to use Iceland to skewer whales these days. A whopping 42 groups are on their knees begging for some harpoon action. Harpoon yourselves, say I.

Among the signers was Fridrik Thor Arngrimsson, head of the Federation of Icelandic Fishing Vessel Owners, who says, "I am certain that whaling will be permitted... What I am uncertain of is how much we will be allowed to catch."

Mr. Thor Arngrimsson, I can think of two dozen things I'd like for you to catch. And none of them is a whale.

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This article was originally posted on Earth Talk

This has been a boom year for right whale births, with a record number of calves being documented by marine biologists. The success of the return of the right whale is one of environmental conservation's most inspiring stories.

Until the 1930s, right whales were hunted mercilessly by whalers.

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