Congrats to the Lancashire couple who found a roughly 3.5 pound chunk of whale... something... while recently strolling the beach. The waxy, smelly lump is actually called ambergris, it’s used in making perfume, and it’s extremely valuable.
Looks like the early ‘00s really are coming back in style!
I’ve never been an adventurous eater. For example, the most daring I’ve ever gotten with seafood is tuna from a can, and even then I drowned it in mayonnaise (like a true American). So when I decided to go on a solo trip to Iceland, I made a concerted effort to include the local cuisine in my diet, because what is…
Look, it’s the most rare thing: pure human wonder, expressed by adults, in a respectable setting. Via BoingBoing, here is a video capturing the reaction of a handful of scientists on board the Exploration Vessel Nautilus, whose remote operation vehicle has descended to nearly 2,000 feet under the sea near the coast…
SeaWorld announced Wednesday that in the third quarter of 2014, income and attendance were significantly down compared this time last year. Hmm, I wonder why?
Spoiler alert: Whales have huge dicks and know how to use them. Whales have giant foreskins. Whales bang. A lot. But you will never see it. Too bad, because whales are amazing lovers.
Last week, a 9-year-old girl was bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas. Now PETA is trying to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate the bite.
Killer whales are one of only three species on the planet to experience menopause, and scientists believe the evolutionary trait is a result of whales' "unusual social structure," in which their adult children never really leave them. (On a side note: what the fuck is day two of a whale period like?)
A woman from Vancouver named Ann Pimentel has mounted a minor (and belated) modesty crusade against the Vancouver Maritime Museum's 19th century scrimshaw exhibit. Pimentel is worried that the exhibit will somehow damage her young children more than her aggressive sense of decorum, and she is demanding that the VMM…
Ambergris, that versatile sperm whale excretion that Herman Melville wrote so prodigiously about when the ocean was just a Dave & Buster's for murdering sperm whales, can be a pretty valuable beachcombing find, way more valuable than a mostly intact conch shell, horseshoe crab, or buffalo nickel. Just ask unemployed…
Get ready to be both sad and inspired by the beauty of nature: A lone bottlenose dolphin with a S-shaped spine deformity was spotted swimming among a pod of sperm whales in the North Atlantic.
So, apparently some magic white whale figured out how to manipulate its nasal tract and surrounding musculature in order to mimic human speech. The whales are learning to talk y'all:
There are only a few lucky species of animals that experience the hormonal scrapple that comes with menopause. Humans, for example, experience menopause so that mothers-in-law don't spew too much vitriol on the temptresses that have bewitched their baby boys. And to conserve resources or whatever. Killer whales, on…
You knew PETA was going to be involved in this somehow, didn't you? Yup — they're suing Sea World, claiming that the parks' orcas are actually slaves. And a judge has agreed to hear the case.
Josh Siegel brings you animal art every Monday (except today it's Tuesday). Add your own requests in the comments, and maybe Josh will draw an animal for you.
BRIDGEND, WALES - JANUARY 27: Tom Habberfield of Ospreys during the LV Cup match between Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons at the Riverside Hardware Brewery Field Stadium on January 27, 2012 in Bridgend, Wales. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Excluding humans, that is. Because whales mate at breeding sites, she probably wasn't making the 6,200 miles from Brazil to Madagascar for love. "It could be that the animal got very lost," says a marine ecologist. Goddamn whale-gender stereotyping.
The literal killer whale who drowned a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando in February has impregnated two female whales, who will give birth to his calves this year. Sounds like a horror franchise in the making. [UPI.com]
Anecdotal research supports the theory that dogs and whales have some sort of special, animal-kingdom connection. Also supporting that theory is this footage of a killer whale practically kissing a dog. It gets OMG at about 13 seconds. Watch, please.
