Latest news with #CascadiaResearchCollective
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Huge 50ft beast from the depths of the ocean washes up on Oregon coast
A 50-foot giant from the depths of the Pacific Ocean has washed up on the Oregon coast. The massive creature - a 53-foot male sperm whale - was found ashore north of about 84 miles west of Portland, its barnacle-scarred body lay battered and still. According to a Facebook post from the Seaside Aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, the sprawling whale washed ashore between Del Rey and Sunset Beach on the afternoon of May 29. When marine experts discovered the beached behemoth, they said its 'spine showed signs of blunt-force trauma and hemorrhaging' consistent with a fatal collision at sea. A necropsy was conducted on Monday by the Cascadia Research Collective, the Seaside Aquarium and Portland State University to help in determining the whale's cause of death. 'During the necropsy, damage to the vertebrate was visible along with signs of hemorrhage. This helped the team determine that this whale was struck by a vessel,' the Seaside Aquarium said. However, the dead whale had been spotted long before it washed ashore. According to the aquarium, the whale was initially reported dead on May 25, around 15 miles offshore. Four days later, on May 27, it was seen again - this time only seven miles from land, according to the Seaside Aquarium. 'The whale will be left on the beach to decompose naturally,' the post added. The natural decomposition process offers a rare chance for beachgoers to witness one of the ocean's giants up close. It also provides a nutrition boost to the surrounding ecosystem. Scavengers such as turkey vultures, bald eagles and even coyotes will have access to the whale's remains for weeks or even months to come. The Seaside Aquarium has since warned onlookers not to touch the giant sea creature. The enormous whale's spine showed signs of blunt-force trauma and hemorrhaging consistent with a fatal collision at sea 'Please remember to look - but do not touch. Marine mammals may spread potential diseases to humans and pets,' the aquarium wrote. Male sperm whales can grow to nearly 60 feet in length and weigh over 40 tons. They are known to live up to 60 years, with males maturing around the age of 50, typically reaching about 52 feet. Their diet includes deep-water species such as squid, sharks, skates, and fish. While their population is slowly recovering, sperm whales remain listed as endangered.
USA Today
3 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Sperm whale found dead on Oregon coast believed to have been struck by vessel
Sperm whale found dead on Oregon coast believed to have been struck by vessel Show Caption Hide Caption Beached sperm whale is humanely euthanized Euthanasia for a whale washed ashore in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, has been determined the "most humane option." An adult sperm whale washed ashore on the Oregon coast last week, and according to a necropsy conducted by researchers, it could have been hit by a vessel. According to a Facebook post from the Seaside Aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, the nearly 53-foot whale washed ashore between Del Ray and Sunset Beach some 84 miles west of Portland on the afternoon of May 29. But the dead whale had been spotted long before it washed ashore. According to the aquarium, the whale was reported dead on May 25, around 15 miles offshore, and then seen seven miles offshore on May 27. A necropsy was then conducted by the Cascadia Research Collective, the Seaside Aquarium and Portland State University, the post said. "During the necropsy, damage to the vertebrate was visible along with signs of hemorrhage. This helped the team determine that this whale was struck by a vessel," the post said. Officials continued, saying that the whale will be left on the beach to continue decomposing in order to provide "nutrition" to the local ecosystem. "This will provide not only an opportunity to see this large whale but also provide a nutrition boost to the local ecosystem. Scavengers such as turkey vultures, bald eagles, and even coyotes will have the ability to feed on this whale for quite some time," the post said. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Surprising' number of gray whale strandings in WA, alarming pattern for researchers
Gray whale strandings, which occur during the spring months when whales migrate past the Washington coast, are happening at a higher rate than this time in past years. The strandings began on April 2 when a female was found on the Long Beach Peninsula. Since then, six more dead gray whales have been documented in Washington state. 'The number of strandings this year is higher than we typically see at this point in the stranding season, sparking concerns about the recovery of the gray whale population after the Unusual Mortality Event (UME) that occurred from 2019-2023,' the Cascadia Research Collective said. The UME involved 690 gray whale strandings from December 2018 to November 2023, including 347 in the United States. Necropsy findings from a subset of dead gray whales found malnutrition as a common cause of death and did not identify underlying disease According to Cascadia Research Collective, this year, stranded whales have primarily been adults with evidence of malnutrition: loss of oil in the blubber layer, lack of internal fat stores, and no food in the stomach or intestines. An exception was a healthy whale that was likely the victim of a transient killer whale attack. Two of the deaths were human-caused. 'We expect more strandings in the coming weeks and will be working to examine as many as possible,' Cascadia Research Collective said. To report a large whale stranding in Washington, call Cascadia's stranding hotline at 360-791-9555. Any stranded marine mammal in WA, OR, or CA can be reported to the West Coast Stranding Network Hotline at 1-866-767-6114.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Whale entangled in crab trap lines off Monterey coast freed after 6 months
(KRON) — A humpback whale that was first observed half a year ago off the Monterey coast to be entangled in lines from a Dungeness crab trap was freed by a team of experts earlier this month, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries announced Monday. The entangled humpback whale was first sighted by Monterey Bay whale watching boats in October 2024, according to NOAA. Researchers identified the whale as 'Check' by using photo records. Check is 'part of the endangered humpback whale population that migrates between Central America and the West Coast,' NOAA said. Trained responders from the Large Whale Entanglement Response Network were unable to locate the whale following the initial sightings. Rare minke whale that's repeatedly stranded itself in SF Bay euthanized Months later, on March 22, 2025, Check was again spotted off the Monterey coast by whale watching vessels. At that time, responders noted that the whale had become entangled in lines from two additional crab traps. When a team was sent out to free the humpback days later, 'fog and as many as five other whales travelling very closely and energetically with Check made it unsafe to continue to approach the whale,' NOAA said. Finally, on the morning April 5, a 'weather window opened,' officials said. A rescue team consisting of The Marine Mammal Center, Marine Life Studies and Cascadia Research Collective found Check near the coast of Pacific Grove. 'They attached some large buoys to slow the whale and keep the entangled ropes near the surface,' said NOAA. 'One team grabbed the entangling line so the whale towed them as they made a carefully orchestrated series of cuts of the ropes.' After the lines were cut and Check was freed, it immediately swam off with another whale, according to Cascadia Research Collective's Doug Sandilands. 'This was an unusually long entanglement, and while we are hopeful it will survive, it will be important to continue documenting Check to see that it makes a full recovery,' Sandilands said. Entangled marine mammals can be reported to NOAA's Entanglement Reporting Hotline at 1-877-767-9425. Injured, stranded or dead marine mammals can be reported to NOAA's West Coast Stranding Hotline at 1-866-767-6114. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What ‘the world's loneliest whale' may be telling us about climate change
Almost 40 years ago, deep in the Pacific, a single voice called out a song unlike any other. The sound reverberated through the depths at 52 Hertz, puzzling those listening to this solo ringing out from the ocean's symphony. The frequency was much higher than a blue whale or its cousin, the fin, leaving scientists to ponder the mystery of Whale 52. The leviathan has been heard many times since, but never seen. Some suspect it might have some deformation that alters its voice. Others think it might simply exhibit a highly unusual vocalization — a tenor among baritones. But Marine biologist John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research Collective suggests another possibility: 'The loneliest whale,' so named because there may be no one to respond to its unique call, may not be an anomaly, but a clue. Calambokidis, who has spent more than 50 years studying cetaceans, suspects Whale 52 may be a hybrid: Part blue whale, part fin whale. Such a creature, often called a flue whale, is growing more common as warming seas push blues into new breeding grounds, where they are increasingly likely to mate with their fin relatives. A survey of north Atlantic blues published last year found that fin whale DNA comprised as much as 3.5 percent of their genome, a striking figure given the two species diverged 8.35 million years ago. If Whale 52 is indeed a hybrid, its presence suggests genetic intermingling among Balaenoptera musculus, as blues are known among scientists, and Balaenoptera physalus has been occurring for decades, if not longer. The North Atlantic findings suggest it is accelerating. Cetacean interbreeding has been documented before, notably among narwhals and belugas and between two species of pilot whales, combinations attributed largely to warming seas pushing these animals into new territory and closer proximity. But hybridization has been more closely studied among terrestrial creatures like the pizzly bears born of grizzlies and polar bears. It is scarcely understood in marine mammals, and little is known about what intermingling will mean for the genetics, behavior, and survival of the largest animal to have ever lived. 'Blue whales are still struggling to recover from centuries of whaling, with some populations remaining at less than 5 percent of their historical numbers,' Calambokidis said. While the number of confirmed hybrids remains low, continued habitat disruption could make them more common, eroding their genetic diversity and reducing the resilience of struggling populations. Before the arrival of genomics 30 years ago, marine biologists identified hybrids primarily through morphology, or the study of physical traits. If an animal displayed the features of two species — the dappled skin of a narwhal and stout body of a beluga, for example — it might be labeled a hybrid based on external characteristics or skeletal measurements. Anecdotal evidence might also play a role: Historical whaling logs suggest blues and fins occasionally interbred, though such pairings went largely unconfirmed. But morphology can, at best, only reveal the first-generation offspring of two distinct species. By analyzing DNA, marine biologists like Aimee Lang can now identify intermingling that occurred generations ago, uncovering a far more complex history than was previously understood. This new level of detail complicates the picture: Are flues becoming more common, or are researchers simply better equipped to find them? As scientists probe the genetic signatures of whales worldwide, they hope to distinguish whether hybridization is an emerging trend driven by climate change, or a long-standing, overlooked facet of cetacean evolution. In any case, some marine biologists find the phenomenon worrisome because flues are largely incapable of reproducing. Although some females are fertile, males tend to be sterile. These hybrids represent a small fraction of the world's blue whales — of which no more than 25,000 remain — but the lopsided population of the two species suggests they will increase. There are four times as many fins as blues worldwide, and an estimate of the waters around Iceland found 37,000 fins to 3,000 blues. 'Three thousand is not a very high density of animals,' said Lang, who studies marine mammal genetics at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 'So you can imagine if a female blue is looking for a mate and she can't find a blue whale but there's fin whales all over the place, she'll choose one of them.' This has profound implications for conservation. If hybrids are not easily identifiable, it could lead to inaccurate estimates of the blue whale population and difficulty assessing the efficacy of conservation programs. More troubling, sterile animals cannot contribute to the survival of their species. Simply put, hybridization presents a threat to their long-term viability. Read Next Biden administration gives up on lower ocean speed limits to protect right whales Emily Jones 'If it becomes frequent enough, hybrid genomes could eventually swamp out the true blue whale genomes,' Lang said. 'It could be that hybrids are not as well adapted to the environment as a purebred blue or fin, meaning that whatever offspring are produced are evolutionary dead ends.'This could have consequences for entire ecosystems. Each whale species plays a specific role in ensuring marine ecosystem health by, say, managing krill populations or providing essential nutrients like iron. Hybrids that don't play the role evolution has assigned to them undermine this symbiotic relationship with the sea. 'Those individuals and their offspring aren't fully filling the ecological niche of either parent species,' Calambokidis said. All of this adds to the uncertainty wrought by the upheavals already underway. Many marine ecosystems are experiencing regime shifts — abrupt and often irreversible changes in structure and function — driven by warming waters, acidification, and shifting prey distributions. These alterations are pushing some cetacean species into smaller, more isolated breeding pools. There is reason for concern beyond blue whales. Rampant interbreeding among the 76 orcas of the genetically distinct and critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population of the Pacific Northwest is cutting their lifespans nearly in half, by placing them at greater risk of harmful genetic traits, weakened immune systems, reduced fertility, and higher calf mortality. Tahlequah, the southern resident orca who became known around the world in 2018 for carrying her dead calf for 17 days, lost another one in January. The 370 or so North Atlantic right whales that still remain may face similar challenges. Some level of cetacean interbreeding and hybridization may be inevitable as species adapt to climate change. Some of it may prove beneficial. The real concern is whether these changes will outpace whales' ability to survive. Flue whales may be an anomaly, but their existence is a symptom of broader, anthropogenic disruptions. 'There are examples of populations that are doing well, even though they have low genetic diversity, and there are examples where they aren't doing well,' said Vania Rivera Leon, who researches population genetics at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts. 'They might be all right under current conditions, but if and when the conditions shift more, that could flip.' 'The effect could be what we call a bottleneck,' she added. 'A complete loss of genetic diversity.' These changes often unfold too gradually for humans to perceive quickly. Unlike fish, which have rapid life cycles and clear population booms or crashes, whales live for decades, with overlapping generations that obscure immediate trends. There have only been about 30 whale generations since whaling largely ceased. To truly grasp how these pressures are shaping whale populations, researchers may need twice that long to uncover what is happening beneath the waves and what, if anything, Whale 52 might be saying about it. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline What 'the world's loneliest whale' may be telling us about climate change on Apr 2, 2025.
