Whales

The spade-toothed whales are the world's rarest, with no live sightings ever recorded. No one knows how many there are, what they eat, or even where they live in the vast expanse of the southern Pacific Ocean. However, scientists in New Zealand may have finally caught a break. The country's conservation agency said Monday a creature that washed up on a South Island beach this month is believed to be a spade-toothed whale. The five-meter-long creature, a type of beaked whale, was identified after it washed ashore on Otago beach from its color patterns and the shape of its skull, beak and teeth We know very little, practically nothing about the creatures, Hannah Hendriks, Marine Technical Advisor for the Department of Conservation, told the Associated Press. This is going to lead to some amazing science and world-first information. If the cetacean is confirmed to be the elusive spade-toothed whale, it would be the first specimen found in a state that would permit scientists to dissect

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday said that they have busted a gang that was allegedly smuggling Ambergris, vomit of the whale

About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania's west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast. The pod, which is stranded on Ocean Beach, appear to be pilot whales and at least half are presumed to still be alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said on Wednesday. A team from the Marine Conservation Programme was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area, the department said. A resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the whales were visible near the entrance to Macquarie Harbour and described the stranding as a massive event". David Midson, general manager of the West Coast Council, urged people to stay clear. Whales are a protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offence to interfere with a carcass, the environment department said. Griffith University marine scientist Olaf Meynecke said it's unusual for sperm whales to wash ashore. He said that warmer temperatures

The scientists studied critically endangered North Atlantic right whales

The study will involve multiple cruises to the whales' feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica and the coastlines of the three continents where they breed

One particular fossilised 'missing link' found in India suggests that the last whale precursors took to the water in times of danger but came onto land to give birth and eat

Researchers focused on whale songs that were in the process of changing from one type to another