NEWSWORTHY
Proliferation of marine parks in China fueling shadowy trade in cetaceans
Eight beluga whales jump in unison out of a bright blue indoor pool, flipping their tail fins and spewing water as a packed audience cheers and snaps photographs. Whale shows like the one at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, located in Zhuhai on China's southern coast, are ...
Dead dolphins wash up in Florida, diseased seals die in northeastern U.S.
Over the past two months, dozens of dead dolphins have washed ashore in Florida and hundreds of diseased seals have died in the northeastern United States, officials said Friday. The unusual deaths have prompted officials to declare two special investigations to find out why, and ...
Activists alarmed over bottlenose dolphin, penguins abandoned at closed Japanese aquarium
The plight of a lonely bottlenose dolphin and dozens of penguins that have been abandoned in a derelict aquarium since the start of the year sparked protests this week, with activists and ordinary people alike calling for the animals to be saved. The female dolphin, ...
'Devastating' dolphin loss seen in Florida red tide disaster
A state of emergency has been declared in Florida as the worst red tide in a decade blackens the ocean water, killing dolphins, sea turtles and fish at a relentless pace. More than 100 tons of dead sea creatures have been shoveled up from smelly, ...
Bridge to China brings threat for Hong Kong's native pink dolphin
Hong Kong's rare pale pink dolphins are battling for survival as building work on a 19-mile (31-km) bridge linking the Asian financial hub with China disrupts the communication and feeding activities of the highly sociable animals, marine experts say. The Chinese white dolphin, which appears ...
Defying criticism, Taiji pushes forward with bold plans based on continued dolphin hunts
A few years back, the normally sleepy town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture was filled with activists furious with its traditional dolphin hunt, which was featured in "The Cove," a 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary. But as the fury ebbs, the town is now betting its ...
Big and brilliant: Study links large size of sperm whale's brain to complex social behavior
Cetaceans — whales and dolphins — are among the brainiest of beings. In terms of sheer brain size, the sperm whale is tops on Earth, with a brain six times larger than that of a person. And now, scientists have identified key differences among cetaceans ...
Shimoda aquarium's bottlenose dolphin Nana sets Japan record of nearly 43 years in captivity
A dolphin at an aquarium in Shizuoka Prefecture has set the Japanese record for longest time in captivity, the aquarium in the city of Shimoda said Oct. 4. Nana the bottlenose dolphin has marked 15,666 days, or 42 years and 11 months, living in ...
Aquariums in Kanagawa, Yamaguchi sever ties with national body over Taiji dolphin ban
Two aquariums in Japan said they have canceled their memberships with the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums due to its decision to forbid the acquisition of dolphins caught through controversial drive hunts off the town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture. Enoshima Aquarium in Fujisawa, ...
Taiji's dolphin hunters have a new voice
It's not often a documentary is made in response to another documentary, but this year two movies have addressed the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," which was about the capture and killing of wild dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. First-time filmmaker Keiko Yagi's "Behind ...
Japanese pro-whaling documentary to be screened at U.S. film festival
A documentary introducing the voices of Japanese people who support whaling and dolphin hunting will be screened at a U.S. film festival in October, its director said Thursday. "Behind the Cove — The Quiet Japanese Speak Out!" will be screened on Oct. 1 during the ...
Despite JAZA acquisition ban, sales of Taiji drive-hunt dolphins up 40%
Sales of dolphin and other small cetaceans caught in controversial drive hunts in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, increased by almost 40 percent in the eight months to April, data showed. Despite the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums introducing a ban last May on purchasing dolphins ...
