Latest news with #WhaleandDolphinConservation
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Miami Herald
28-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Sea creature seen wrapped in ‘kelp patty'. What is kelping and why do they do it?
A massive sea creature was seen wrapped in a 'kelp patty' off the coast of California and experts believe it was intentional. Bystanders got the 'brilliant' treat of the sun peeking through the clouds, allowing for onlookers to see a humpback whale wrapped in kelp, beginning the process of 'kelping,' according to a May 27 Facebook post by the Dana Wharf Whale Watch. After coming up for air a few times, the whale worked its way toward the kelp, in what researchers believe is a way to remove 'parasites and bacteria' from their skin, the group said. Kelp possess 'antibacterial and antifungal qualities' making it a whale's perfect 'skin care routine' allowing for it to help in the process of removing 'barnacles and lice that build up on their skin and cause irritation,' according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation's website. Some researchers believe it could also be as simple as 'just good fun' for the whale with humpbacks even playing with it alone, the WDC said. The sun illuminated the humpback whale's pectoral fins, creating a 'white glow. The group learned it's a whale known as HW-MN0503732 that was first spotted in March, the post said. 'Humpback whales reach sexual maturity between the ages of 4 and 10 years,' according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Calves stay close to their mom for up to a year before weaning, with the mother being 'protective' and 'swimming closely and often touching them with their flippers,' according to NOAA. Along with the 'kelping humpback' the group spotted a pod of dolphins swimming in a 'tightly grouped' formation, two gray whales, and even got the opportunity to see a minke whale come up for air, the group said. Dana Point is about a 60-mile drive southeast from downtown Los Angeles.
Miami Herald
28-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Extremely rare' sea creature seen hunting off Australia by drone pilot. See it
A drone pilot in Australia recently captured footage of a highly elusive sea creature on the hunt. The incident took place off the coast of Magnetic Island, located a few miles offshore from mainland Queensland. While flying an aerial drone low over the ocean, Oliver Scheele spotted an Australian snubfin dolphin pursuing a fish. A video posted by Scheele shows the pale-bodied marine mammal breaching the surface and making hair-pin turns while tracking the fish. 'These dolphins are extremely rare, living in inshore areas,' Scheele wrote in a May 19 Instagram post. 'They are a vulnerable species due to human impacts.' 'Seeing these dolphins was a privilege as they are so rare,' he told Yahoo News. Scheele's brother, a marine biologist, told the outlet this is the first sighting the pair have made of the species, following six years of searching. An 'extremely rare' species Australian snubfin dolphins were only discovered as a distinct species in 2005, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation, a non-profit. Prior to that, they were thought to be a secluded population of Irrawaddy dolphins, another rare species native to Southeast Asia. 'There are clear differences between the two populations that had not been previously recognized and these were confirmed by the studies on DNA,' a researcher who helped uncover the species told NBC News in 2005. The relatively newfound creatures are distinguished by their round, melon-shaped heads, light coloring and small dorsal fins — from which their 'snubfin' name is derived. The animals — which can grow up to nearly 9 feet in length and weigh up to 280 pounds — are found along stretches of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Because they prefer shallow, coastal waters, they are at risk from human activity and are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The marine species is classified as protected in the waters off Australia and 'their future remains uncertain,' according to Dolphin Research Australia, a non-profit conservation organization. The animals are generally sheepish around boats, and they have been seen displaying a peculiar spitting behavior, which 'remains a mystery.' Much else about the dolphins, including the specifics of their reproductive habits, remains unknown.
NZ Herald
05-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Fiji community-led eco-tourism transforms villages after Cyclone Winston
So they approached Bau, a Natailera native running a dolphin-watching business that heads out to the nearby Moon Reef. The elders wanted him to 'revive' the community-owned ecolodge, and he agreed. There was a lot of work before him. 'I started from scratch,' he said. Four years on, Natalei Eco Lodge is not just operational but offers guests immersive and sustainable experiences, including mangrove kayaking on that black-jade sea, coral, mangrove and sea-grass planting, and dolphin watching. From UK-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Bau learned how to protect the resident spinner dolphins and continues to share conservation lessons with visitors. Guests also get pure organic food grown right in their garden. But not just because it's trendy or desired by tourists. It's important to them. Bau explained it this way: 'I think it's a lot of money to go to the market in town and buy it and come back, and ... we don't know the type of weedicide and types of manure they have put in. 'We prefer to eat organic food ... it's safe for us, for staff and also safe for the guests.' Natalei Eco Lodge isn't the only business where your holiday spending directly benefits the communities you visit, sustainably. It's one of several tour operators that form Duavata, a small sustainability-focused collective. Another member is Bula Coffee, which sources its own locally grown coffee, has a cafe and offers consumers coffee tours on its farm. Founded by New Zealander Luke Fryett, who previously owned the Fatted Aphid cafe in Tauranga, the business began as a way to give back to villagers in the highlands. 'Things are pretty hard up there quite often, and they don't have a lot of revenue income,' he said. Having lived in Fiji for more than 15 years, he remains committed to ensuring people are prioritised above profit. 'We do make sure that every dollar that you spend is having an impact right back at the grassroots level,' said Fryett. 'Whether you're buying a coffee or taking a tour.' Before Bula Coffee established its farm in Sigatoka, it would buy its hand-picked coffee cherries only from the villagers in the highlands, helping them 'contribute to village life' and raise their kids without having to travel far from home to find work. While the farm offers additional commercial opportunities, it has not replaced the workers in the highlands who continue to handpick coffee cherries for the business. Fryett explained the business model works on the '3Ps': people, planet and profit. 'All three of them have to grow together for us to consider being successful,' he told me. 'So as long as the people that we're looking after earn a good income and we're looking after the planet, we're not destroying it and we're making money, then we consider ourselves successful. 'Whereas if we're just out there destroying all the bush and planting masses of coffee and making huge profits, but the people who are doing the hard work are not generating good income from it, then we don't consider ourselves successful.' Marita Manley, director of Talanoa Treks – another Duavata tour operator that offers visitors access to Fiji's dramatic peaks, lush forests and rich cultures through its hikes – said Duavata believes the experiences it provides are 'off the beaten track' – for a reason. 'We want to make it easier for guests to connect to communities and culture while they are here,' Manley said. Bau put Natalei's pathway to success simply: 'You just make your garden nicely and the butterfly will come. Right now we're trying to make our garden nice and it's a 100% guarantee that a butterfly [will] have a rest on a properly maintained, well-looked-after garden.' Checklist FIJI For Natalei Eco Lodge: From Nadi or Nausori airports, take a car transfer (you can organise this directly with the lodge) and drive to Nataleira in Tailevu, located about 85km north of Suva. For Bula Coffee farm: From Nadi or Nausori airports, take a car transfer and head to the Coral Coast near the Sigatoka Sand Dunes.
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Largest sea creature on planet spotted off CA coast. See the ‘marvelous treat'
Bystanders got the chance to join the 1% club after spotting the largest sea creature on the planet and the group is calling it a 'marvelous treat' in California, officials said. On May 1, a group set out in Laguna Beach and spotted a pair of humpback whales, according to a Facebook post by Dana Wharf Whale Watch. They could 'easily see the telltale hump on the leading edge of the dorsal fin' and got the chance to see the whales' flukes come out of the water, the group said. As they continued further into their excursion, 'there it was' — the season's first blue whale, officials said. In the distance, and about four miles from shore, the group spotted the 'largest, and loudest, and longest animal to ever live on the planet,' officials said. Blue whales can weigh up to 330,000 pounds and grow to 110 feet long, making their length about the same as the height of a 10-story building, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They can live up to 90 years though there was one that famously lived to be 110-years-old, according to the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation. The whale watching group gave out its coveted 'blue whale buttons' and congratulated the 'privileged' group on their sighting, officials said. Dana Point is about a 60-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
NBC News
26-02-2025
- General
- NBC News
Rare video captures super pod of 2,000 dolphins breaching and playing off California coast
SAN FRANCISCO — A California boat captain has captured rare video of a super pod of more than 2,000 dolphins breaching off the coast of Monterey Bay, including the more elusive northern right whale dolphin. Northern right whale dolphins are often spotted farther away from shore and in deeper waters, but Evan Brodsky, a captain and videographer with private boat tour company Monterey Bay Whale Watch, encountered the mammals last week about 11 miles from the harbor. The dolphins are one of two dolphin species without a dorsal fin. 'They're all smooth,' said Brodsky, and joked, 'When they jump, they look like flying eyebrows.' Brodsky was out around noon Friday with two other crew members conducting research when they spotted a dozen dolphins. They followed the pod until they estimated there were more than 2,000 of them, including light gray baby calves, and several hundred Pacific white-sided dolphins. 'We were so excited it was hard to hold in our emotions. We had the biggest grins from ear to ear,' he said, adding that one of his coworkers may have shed a tear at the sight. Northern right whale dolphins live in pods of 100 to 200, according to the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation. They are gregarious and highly social and often mix with other dolphin species, including Risso's dolphins, a super pod of which Brodsky captured on drone video last month. Adults are about 10 feet long and weigh over 200 pounds, Brodsky said. People come from around the world to try to see a northern right whale dolphin in the bay's deep underwater canyons, said Colleen Talty, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch. Monterey is about 120 miles south of San Francisco. She said the dolphins could be clustering to fend off predators, feed on the same food or socialize. 'We don't always see baby dolphins,' she said, 'so that's pretty nice.'
