Whales

Kyara swimming next to her mother, Takara. At the time of her death, Kyara was just three months old.

Last Orca Born at SeaWorld Dies

The three-month-old creature succumbed to a case of pneumonia, according to the park

A "flukeprint" is a patch of calm water on the surface created when a whale flaps its tail as it cruises along just out of sight.

How to Spot a Hidden Whale

Just as a hunter leaves a trail in the snow, a whale forms prints on the water’s surface

The preserved whale heart weighs approximately 400 pounds.

The Painstaking Process of Preserving a 400-Pound Blue Whale Heart

This massive specimen is now on display in Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum

Southern Resident orcas frolic in Puget Sound.

Two Thirds of Southern Resident Orca Pregnancies Fail

But now scientists think they know why

A blue whale swims through the Indian Ocean. These massive creatures are the largest animals on Earth.

Why Did Whales Get So Massive?

The answer is a tale of massive proportions

New Drone Footage Shows One Way Narwhals Use Their Tusks

The narwhals were observed using their signature appendages to hit and stun prey

Illustration of Mystacodon selenensis

This 36-Million-Year-Old Fossil Is a "Missing Link" in Whale Evolution

Discovered in Peru, the new fossil has tiny remnants of hind limbs

U.K. Killer Whale Contained Staggering Levels of Toxic Chemical

Lulu had one of the highest concentrations of PCBs ever recorded in a marine mammal

This copy of the first chart of the Gulf Stream was printed in 1786, ten years after Benjamin Franklin first drew it up.

Benjamin Franklin Was the First to Chart the Gulf Stream

Franklin's cousin, Timothy Folger, knew how the then-unnamed current worked from his days as a whaler

Why Mother and Baby Humpback Whales Whisper to One Another

The quiet communication helps them avoid killer whales and randy male humpbacks

SeaWorld Announces Birth of Last Orca Bred in Captivity

The calf's mother was pregnant when SeaWorld cancelled its controversial breeding program

Jaw-Dropping Video Shows Blue Whale Chowing Down on Krill

A drone captured the giant cetaceans plowing through krill clouds to get their fill

Orcas Are Killed in Front of Tourists, Now Caribbean Nation Wrangles With Whaling Laws

The prime minister of St. Vincent will introduce legislation to outlaw orca hunting

This Japanese vessel is supposedly researching whales in Australia—but opponents say it's just whaling under another name.

A Japanese Fleet Killed Over 300 Whales This Season

The creatures were supposedly collected for the sake of research

Outside of the U.S., international whale capture is alive and well.

What Will It Take to End International Killer Whale Capture?

The West may have rejected whale captivity, but the painful relationship between humans and orcas is far from over

A humpback supergroup off the coast of South Africa

Scientists Spot Hundreds of Humpback Whales Feeding in Massive Groups

The normally solitary creatures gathered off the southwestern coast of South Africa, puzzling researchers

True's Beaked Whale

See the First Video of One of the World's Rarest Whales

The 46 second clip of several True's beaked whales was taken by students and teachers on a field trip in the Azore Islands in 2013

Three polar bears climbing on a snow-covered pile of bowhead whale bones on Barter Island near Kaktovik, Alaska.

The Politics of Viewing Polar Bears

Tourists flock to this coastal Alaskan town to photograph the vulnerable icons—raising hairy ethical questions

New Zealand volunteers formed a human chain in the water at a remote beach on Friday as they tried to save about 100 whales after more than 400 of the creatures beached themselves in one of the worst whale strandings in the nation's history.

Hundreds of Pilot Whales Stranded on New Zealand’s Farewell Spit

Up to 300 have died and volunteers are scrambling to get the remaining creatures back in the water

Like most innovations in science, the study of whale earwax—a.k.a. earplugs—as oceanic core samples came about by asking a question no one had thought to ask.

For Scientists, Chunks of Whale Earwax Can Be Biological Treasure Troves

Biologists are waxing poetic about these unusual oceanic core samples found in the ears of cetaceans

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