This TikTok video (down below, on the left) became viral in the last couple of days. In this video, you can see a person pressing their hand on a beluga whale’s squishy head. The video had a lot of people enraged because they believed the person was mistreating the whale by pressing on its brain. We decided to write this post to debunk the myth around the beluga’s head. The squishy part is not the…

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Whales spend their entire lives in the ocean. Their bodies are completely adapted to life in the water. Among amazing evolutionary features, whales’ noses (called blowholes) moved to the top of their head so they can breathe easily without having to put their heads out of the water (check our post on blowholes for more details). Whales’ fins also evolved from terrestrial limbs into fully functional fins and fluke, showing how well these creatures can…

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Marine mammalogist Danielle is a 31 years-old South African working on killer whales for the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme (MIMMP). Her journey has involved many exciting opportunities that has led her to where she is now. She discusses how COVID-19 has halted some of her plans, but has not deterred her in the slightest. Danielle discusses with us her very unique killer whale necropsy and how she found love in the process… Danielle with…

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Whalecome to the July 2020 whale of the month: The Pilot Whale. The pilot whale genus “Globicephalus” means round head. I had the chance to watch these lovely creatures during a trip to the Canary Islands seven years ago. I have found them super cute ever since! In this post, I list a couple of interesting facts about pilot whales and talk about the controversy surrounding the ongoing whaling in the Faroe Islands. Pilot whale…

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Make sure to read Part 1 before you read this post. Regrettably, Part 2 is a bit of a downer, but is necessary to address. The SRKWs population has been drastically decreasing. The most recent population estimate indicates a total of 73 individuals remaining. Scientists have identified three main threats to the SRKW population: starvation, noise pollution, and chemical pollution. All three threats play off each other, thus causing an endless detrimental cycle. Graph showing…

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Have you ever watched Finding Nemo? Do you remember how Dory and Marlin escaped the whale that swallowed them on their way to Sidney? In the movie, the two friends found themselves in a dire situation. At least until the whale took a deep breath at the surface and pushed Dory and Marlin out through its nostrils (called blowholes). What a relief for our two favorite fish, being able to go back to the water…

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Alexandre is a 25 year-old Canadian whale scientist. He comes from the Québec province. He holds a Msc. from UQAM (University of Quebec in Montreal). His master research focuses on ecotoxicology in beluga whales from the Saint Lawrence Estuary. Alexandre’s education I first did a bachelor’s degree (3 years) in biological and ecological sciences at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Québec, Canada) where I specialized in limnology and aquatic ecology. It was one of the…

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Whale enthusiasts from Quebec were both shocked and saddened when they heard about the loss of Montreal’s famous humpback whale visitor. This acrobatic animal, known for its many beautiful breaches in Montreal’s old port, was found lifeless in the east of Montreal about a week ago. In this post, we revisit the story of Montreal’s whale and offer you some good news regarding humpback whale populations around the world. Be sure to keep reading it…

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June is Orca Awareness Month! We wanted to focus this post on the Southern Residents because they are the most endangered population of killer whales. Yet, they are among the most studied whales in the world. We know so much about them. Here is a little introduction on these beautiful majestic whales. © Jared Towers Populations and Ecotypes Found in every ocean, killer whales (Orcinus orca), or orcas, are cosmopolitan. Typically found in the higher…

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UPDATE June 10th 2020 The young female humpback whale died on June 9th 2020 on its way back towards the sea. The necropsy is being performed on June 10th by vets from the University of Montreal. A collision seems to have caused the whale’s death. We will keep you posted. Rest in peace, beautiful whale. This post was written by our friend Laura Zeppetelli-Bédard from Montreal. More info on her at the bottom of the…

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