Marine Mammals
Latest about Marine Mammals
![close up on the head of a sperm whale as it's swimming in the ocean](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FZzLUJ2GKfFgNfLMBXUa2J-320-80.jpg)
Sperm whales drop giant poop bombs to save themselves from orca attack
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
A pod of sperm whales flung their poop at unsuspecting orcas to avoid a fatal attack.
![an adult orca ramming a young calf so it is flipped over on its back](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7GzRZYV55An6NYXz6srf5W-320-80.jpg)
Brutal footage shows orca mom and son team up to drown another pod's calf
By Hannah Osborne published
First of its kind footage captures the moment an orca mom and her son drown a calf in an extremely rare case of infanticide.
![composite image showing beluga whale with a changed head shape](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/W5LmbrPURPGdNu76Za69bA-320-80.jpg)
Beluga whales appear to change the shape of their melon heads to communicate, scientists discover
By Richard Pallardy published
Beluga whales appear to change the shape of their heads during encounters with one another in what scientists believe is a form of visual communication among this highly social species.
![Beluga whale.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yyZXSNB3ntrYAiYCUVxPkJ-320-80.jpg)
Why some whales go through menopause
By Gennaro Tomma published
Toothed whales appear to have lengthened their lifespan without lengthening their reproductive life so they can help care for their grandchildren, a new study suggests.
![A whale tail image taken just out of water.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jkzabbu2U8SXDN8Fe5Rd63-320-80.jpg)
7,000 humpback whales died in the North Pacific over 10 years — and 'the blob' is to blame
By Elise Poore published
New research using artificial intelligence reveals that a decline in the North Pacific population of humpback whales between 2012 and 2021 coincided with the strongest marine heat wave recorded globally.
![An aerial view of a gray whale swimming in the ocean](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7jwSPHCSCx97f2uRtXjZde-320-80.jpg)
'Should not really exist in these waters': Scientists spot gray whale, thought to be extinct in the Atlantic, off Massachusetts coast
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
Scientists spotted a gray whale — believed to be extinct in the Atlantic Ocean — while conducting an aerial survey.
![Two male humpback whales having sex in surface waters.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xSkbp7Z9LMjZiJzszFs9Hh-320-80.jpg)
Male humpback whale seen forcing sex on emaciated, injured male in extremely rare encounter
By Sascha Pare published
Photographs taken off Maui, Hawaii, show the first documented case of a male humpback whale sexually penetrating another male, with the latter appearing injured and covered in parasites.
![Aerial footage of whale swimming with its calf.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ADA2ytUJTnSSpwVggAea6A-320-80.jpg)
Critically endangered right whales are shrinking, with drastic consequences for their population
By Melissa Hobson published
Climate change appears to be causing North Atlantic right whales to get smaller, and it's making them have fewer babies.
![sonar image showing holes in the seafloor](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VBevTiKHeKeQgLzbsGh5zc-320-80.jpg)
Millions of mystery holes at the bottom of the North Sea are not what scientists thought they were
By Andrew Chapman, Eos.org published
Holes in the seafloor off the coast of Germany looked like those associated with methane. They might actually be the work of porpoises looking for eels.
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