Slideshow: Solving a Gray Whale Murder Mystery
Slideshow: Solving a Gray Whale Murder Mystery
One way to investigate the record-setting deaths of the marine mammals is to perform autopsies on them, but researchers are also taking a close look at living whales for clues to what could be killing them.
One way to investigate the record-setting deaths of the marine mammals is to perform autopsies on them, but researchers are also taking a close look at living whales for clues to what could be killing them.
Whale migration
Infographic: Investigating Whale Strandings Along the North American Coast
Ashley Yeager | Nov 1, 2020 | 2 min read
Knock-on effects of melting sea ice in the Arctic may be to blame for a spate of gray whale deaths along their migration route from Mexico to Alaska.
Clues Point to Climate Change as a Culprit in Gray Whale Deaths
Ashley Yeager | Nov 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
For the past two years, the charismatic marine mammals have washed up on Pacific shores in record numbers. Scientists investigating the strandings suspect warming waters and melting sea ice are partly to blame.
Government Scientists Launch Investigation into Whale Deaths
Chia-Yi Hou | Jun 3, 2019 | 1 min read
About 70 gray whales have been found dead this year on the west coast of the US.
Seven North Atlantic Right Whale Calves Spotted So Far This Year
Ashley Yeager | Mar 5, 2019 | 4 min read
The number of new babies is up from zero born last year, but scientists say the birth rate is still too low to sustain the population of endangered whales.
Drones Are Changing the Face of Ecology
Catherine Offord | Aug 1, 2018 | 6 min read
Unmanned aerial vehicles allow researchers to collect huge volumes of biological data cheaply, easily, and at higher resolution than ever before.
Nick Pyenson Reconstructs Bygone Whale Populations Using Fossils
Jim Daley | Jul 1, 2018 | 3 min read
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History paleobiologist also studies the evolution of echolocation and special sensory structures in modern whales.
Image of the Day: City Slickers
The Scientist | Jun 13, 2017 | 1 min read
In recent years, New Yorkers have noted a drastic increase in the number of whale sightings within the city’s waterways.