Been absolutely fascinated with them lately, wondering how they defend themselves against attacks? Maybe I’m just too uneducated on whales but I don’t see how they can hold their own against something a group of predators. I heard they slap with their tails but is that all?

This may be a dumb question but do large animals such as Whales have naturally lower populations due to their massive sizes? Even considering the fact a lot of them are endangered, without human intervention would their population still be lower than that of smaller mammals that live on land?

I just saw a video of what happens when a boat strikes a whale and it’s left to die an agonizing death from its injuries. It was the “Sweet Girl” video of a whale that was probably struck by a ferry going over the speed limit off the coast of Tahiti. What can I do other than sign the change.org petition to get boats to slow down? And not only in French Polynesia, but everywhere when it’s known whales are present. Is there any organization that’s specializing in this?

Also, is there any way to influence ecotourism to French Polynesia to make them aware of the conflict with the whales and the heavier use of the ferry boats? I had no idea this was happening, and I was planning my trip to Moorea and almost made the mistake of buying ferry tickets instead of taking the plane to the island. I don’t want any of my dollars going to companies who don’t police their crew and make sure they’re driving at a safe speed for the whales. I’m sure there’s a lot of others going there who would feel the same but lack awareness of the issue.

Hello! I found this on a beach in Oregon. Can anyone help me determine what kind of whale it might be from?

https://preview.redd.it/u7v2qq458v4e1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa450a28eb6b607c27f9acdf22cff4e84749367f

My research bridges animal communication, climate science, marine biology and molecular biology, and my inventions include technology to perceive the underwater world from the perspective of marine animals. Over the last several years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the hidden lives of whales, which led me to start Project CETI, a non-profit organization applying advanced machine learning and state-of-the-art robotics to listen to and translate the communication of sperm whales. At CETI, I work alongside an amazing team of over 50 scientists who are unified by the shared goal of applying technology to amplify the magic of our natural world. Our hope is that CETI’s findings will show that technology can bring us closer to nature. You can learn more about me here. And if you’d like to learn more about Project CETI, check out our website and AMA! I'll answer live on Dec 5 at 12 PM EST.

*NOTE: Apologies we ran into a technical issue and had to repost so if you dropped in a question in the few minutes our previous post was up - please ask again!

From David: "Thank you for participating in my AMA with NatGeo! I had a lot of fun reading through and answering some of your questions. Stay curious and keep exploring!

From Nat Geo: Thank you for joining us! If there are other experts you want to hear from or topics you are interested in – let us know. And check out Project CETI’s work featured in Nat Geo Magazine:

What are animals saying? AI may help decode their languages

Whales of the Azores painted on the wall next to a Whale Watching tour operator in Ponta Delgado, Sâo Miguel, Azores

Mods can write get this pinned to the top of the sub?

This post may be a controversial one but I would love some info on why we helped stranded whales? I’m from New Zealand and right now there are a group of whales that keep restranding themselves. This is super sad, local volunteers keep refloating them but they just keep coming back to shore.

My thoughts are, are these whales doing this for a reason? Is helping them refloat not helping the situation long term (natural selection and continuation of stronger genes). Are they beaching themselves because they don’t want to live anymore. I mean the keep coming back, leave them alone.

Don’t get me wrong, it is so sad and I feel awful for the whales. But sometimes I feel that we shouldn’t intervene.

Article:

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/12/03/whales-strand-again-in-golden-bay/