Basilosaurus skeleton at the Museum of nation History in Washington DC/CC Gini Let’s travel back in time this month to visit our scary “scaley” friend, or so scientists thought! Get ready to meet our prehistoric predatory whale, Basilosoaurus, “The King of Lizards”, or Zeuglodon. Following the bone trail… Basilosaurus skull from Alabama 1834 in Louisiana, American naturalist, and paleontologist, Richard Harlan (September 19, 1796 – September 30, 1843) received a single vertebra. He thought it…

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This year, professional development opportunities are extremely limited, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Global travel restrictions and lockdowns make conferences and internships almost impossible. But there are other ways how you can advance your professional profile! How can you keep developing your skills and/or doing whale science during the COVID pandemic? Here are six things every early career scientist can do to make sure 2020 is not a complete career write-off. Whale science is…

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When we think about molting, the most familiar example we can think of is the snake “shedding its skin” and replacing it with a new one. However, did you know that also mammals shed something? Mammals shed their fur. Pinnipeds, such as seals, otariids, and walruses, belong to this category of fur shedding mammals. Once a year, they shed their old fur which is replaced by a shiny, brand new coat. For my honors project,…

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Bad news in Tasmania The world just woke up to the terrible news: at least 470 pilot whales beached themselves in Tasmania and around 400 are dead. First, a pod of 270 individuals stranded together on Tuesday. They were soon followed by 200 other individuals on Wednesday. This is the biggest stranding event in Tasmania to date. The two pods did not strand in the same area, making the rescue really difficult because teams have…

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The world of whale science is broad and can seem overwhelming sometimes – there are so many different options you can focus on. Truth is: you can study behavior, diet, communication, microbiomes, evolution, health, migration, reproduction, acoustics, metabolism, pathology, and so much more. Every whale scientist has their own specific niche, just like the marine mammal species we find in our oceans. The choices can seem endless, and this field is one of the most…

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We found long-banned pesticides and industrial pollutants in the blubber of humpback whales from Antarctica, suggesting these contaminants accumulate in Antarctic food webs. The pollution levels however were the some of the lowest measured in the world for for these whales. Good news for the whales! Our study on humpback whales from Antarctica just got published in Environmental Pollution and it is my first publication as a first author. Here is an explanation of the…

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It is a solid, waxy, greyish substance that smells: Ambergris, is also known as sperm whale vomit (or poop). It has often been described as one of the world’s strangest natural occurrences. You may have heard about it for its use in the production of perfumes and fragrances. You’re probably asking yourself now why smelly whale vomit would be an important ingredient for perfumes. That brings us right to the weird qualities of ambergris. Once…

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Rebecca Boys is a 28 years-old British marine mammalogist working on her PhD in New Zealand. For her PhD, she studies how we can apply welfare science to cetacean stranding events. Here is her story. Rebecca’s Education I attended Bangor University, UK for my undergraduate degree. This degree program was great as it was applied, providing me with a year working in industry, half way through my degree. This experience really allowed me to gain…

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The Arctic is an extreme environment and surviving on ice when you are a vulnerable Arctic seal pup can be pretty tough. Fortunately, seals have developed strategies to thrive in the cold. Keep reading to find out how. Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) with frozen whiskers in the cold Polar wind – Credit: Paul Nicklen Photography The Arctic is an extreme environment. The Arctic is the region surrounding the North Pole. It consists of a large…

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Whales can adapt to seasonal and environmental conditions. But they are not working alone… They, just like us, team up with a vast army of microscopic soldiers literally every day. All these different microbes including bacteria, fungi, and viruses make up the whale’s microbiome. We can actually look at the composition of whales’ microbiomes to understand how changes in their conditions (like starvation) impact their health. Humpback whales fast for a good part of the…

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