Posted: August 20th, 2010 | Author: sykospark | Filed under: Whale | Tags: new zealand | No Comments »
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Fifty-eight pilot whales died after they washed onto an isolated beach in northern New Zealand and rescue volunteers’ initial efforts to refloat 15 others that survived failed Friday.
A fresh attempt to save the 15 beached sea mammals — which weigh up to 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) each — will be made early Saturday, using machinery including a crane and transporter, said Department of Conservation acting area manager Mike Davies.
The 73 pilot whales probably stranded during the night on remote Karikari Beach which is why so many died before they were discovered, said the department’s community relations manager, Carolyn Smith.
New Zealand frequently sees several mass whale strandings around its coastline, mainly each summer as whales pass by on their migration to and from Antarctic waters. Scientists have not been able to determine why whales become stranded.
A pod of 101 pilot whales stranded on the same beach in 2007.
Kimberly Muncaster, chief executive of the Project Jonah whale aid group, said the 15 surviving whales were in “fairly poor condition.”
About 40 people tried to refloat them at high tide on Friday. Among those helping the department were trained volunteers from the Far North Whale Rescue group.
Davies said the 15 whales would not need to be sedated for Saturday’s second rescue attempt using the heavy equipment as they were already in quite a docile state.
“The plan at first light will be to remove the … whales across about 1 kilometer (half a mile) of road by transporter and refloat them in (nearby) Matai Bay,” he said, where sea conditions would be easier and the bay more sheltered.
New Zealand has one of the world’s highest rates of whale strandings, according to the Department of Conservation. Since 1840, more than 5,000 strandings of whales and dolphins have been recorded around the New Zealand coast.
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Posted: July 21st, 2010 | Author: sykospark | Filed under: Whale | No Comments »
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A yachter in South Africa says her trip off the country’s picturesque southwestern coast was wrecked by an unexpected whack from a whale.
Paloma Werner said Wednesday the whale breached just feet (meters) from their boat in Cape Town’s waters on Sunday. It whacked the yacht, snapping the mast in two. A local newspaper showed a photo, captured by a passenger on a nearby boat, of a massive black whale towering over the yacht. Werner says neither she nor her companion were hurt, and she saw the whale swimming around minutes after the collision. She says she feels lucky that the mast took the brunt of the blow.
The seas around Cape Town are teeming with whales and great white sharks during the winter months, which fall in the middle of the year
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Posted: July 1st, 2010 | Author: sykospark | Filed under: Whale | Tags: fossil, orca, sperm whale | No Comments »
A DREAM COME TRUE!
“The massive skull and jaw of a 13-million-year-old sperm whale has been discovered eroding from the windblown sands of a coastal desert of Peru…The giant 3-meter (10-foot) skull … was found with teeth in its top and bottom jaws up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) long.
Living sperm whales have teeth only in their lower jaws and are specialized to feed on giant squid, Lambert explained. They suck down squid like large spaghetti noodles rather than catch the prey with their teeth. The much toothier fossil sperm whales, however, may have eaten more like a outsized-orca, or killer whale: chomping great big bites out of its prey.”
How awesome is this? In our dreams, this whale-eating-whale still exists and is out there, eating whales as I type!!
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Posted: June 26th, 2010 | Author: sykospark | Filed under: Whale | Tags: Whale | 1 Comment »
We hope to enlighten you to the true issues behind whales. These evil, overgrown mammals have taken over the seas of humankind, and have made suckers out of many of you as a shield for money hungry, overly political eco terrorists!
Voyage of the Mimi left many young people damaged for years. Some turned to drugs, others to alcohol, and a percentage turned to whalerage. Join our forces, spread the word, and end the Order of the Cetaceans!
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