Blue whales are the largest creatures to have ever lived on Earth.
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The only sea creature known to attack blue whales is the orca, also known as a ‘killer whale’. But humans present a much bigger threat to them.
Boat noise can interfere with the underwater communication of fishes and other marine animals.
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The noise from motor boats, sonar and other industrial activity interferes with the underwater chatter of fishes.
Living alongside humans gets noisier all the time.
Katrina Burgers/Shutterstock.com
From the oil that makes your petrol, to car parts, to the groceries and other things in your weekly shop, retail consumerism is driving a boom in the amount of noise in the world’s oceans.
We know that lots of animals, maybe all animals, sleep. Cats, dogs, even worms and jellyfish sleep. But we still don’t know exactly why they started sleeping.
Marcella Cheng/The Conversation
Pond snails use things like rocks or the side of their aquarium as their bed, attaching themselves while they sleep. This might not seem very relaxing but their shells do hang away from their body.
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An animal behaviour expert gives his view on finding that a killer whale can copy the sound ‘hello’.
Bottlenose dolphins, are very coastal and subsist on small fish connected to reefs and smaller bays.
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A new report will supply some information needed for science based conservation measures in the Red Sea.
A pod of spinner dolphins in the Red Sea.
Alexander Vasenin/wikimedia
Complex behaviour such as regional accents and cultural food preferences in whales and dolphins seems to be linked to brain size.
The pygmy right whale, Caperea marginata , at sea.
Robert Pitman
Fossils of a whale thought to be found only in southern waters have been discovered at two sites in the northern hemisphere.
Dolphins contribute important knowledge about ocean health.
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Marine mammals are often referred to as sentinels of the ocean and research on whales and dolphins in particular contributes important knowledge about the health of our seas.
Navin75/Flickr, Australian Marine Conservation Society, ANU
In this episode of Change Agents, Andrew Dodd speaks with Darren Kindleysides and Don Rothwell on how Australia won a case against Japan's whaling activities at the International Court of Justice.
Ancient whales, such as Janjucetus illustrated here, used their sharp teeth to capture and process their prey.
Carl Buell
Ancient whales were neither gentle, nor giants: they were smaller than those of today and judging from their teeth, a lot meaner.
Humpback whales getting a feed.
Janie Wray/North Coast Cetacean Society
A new study shows that the way humpback whales choose their habitats is affected by humans.
A baleen whale feeding in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand.
Dr Krista Hupman
There are plenty of mammals that have adapted to life in water, some more than others. That meant they also had to adapt the way they feed.
Robyn Grace/EPA
More than 400 whales have died on a beach in New Zealand.
A photo from Sea Shepherd allegedly shows a Japanese whaling vessel with a dead minke whale on board.
EPA/GLENN LOCKITCH / SEA SHEPHERD HANDOUT
Japan is once again allegedly killing whales in Antarctica. But after taking Japan to international court in 2014, there’s not much Australia can do.
No deep voices here.
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Size doesn’t always matter when it comes to the pitch of your voice, especially if you’re an aquatic mammal.
A blue whale surfaces.
Joy Tripovich
Songs of marine animals can help us discover new populations.
A rare glimpse of a river dolphin in Cambodia.
Erwan Deverre/Flickr
Dolphin-watching tourism has pros and cons — so what should you think about next time you head out?
Alfred the aetiocetid had teeth but needed a better way to capture his tiny prey.
Carl Buell.
The largest animals on the planet - the baleen whales - prey on some of the smallest. But how did their teeth evolve into the filters they use today?
Ship strikes can be deadly, as shown by this blue whale off the US northwest.
Craig Hayslip/Oregon State Univ./Flickr/Wikimedia Commons
Ships in Australian waters are getting bigger and more numerous all the time. We need a plan to help them avoid crashing into whales and other large sea creatures.