/r/Cetacea

Photograph via snooOG

News and discussion for the marine mammals of the order Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises).

Banner image by Matthew Allen / Flickr

News and discussion for the marine mammals of the order Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises).

Also: https://www.facebook.com/CetaceanNews

Related Subreddits

Banner image by Matthew Allen / Flickr

/r/Cetacea

2,426 Subscribers

0

My Opinion, My Respect, and My suicide commitment.

1 Comment
2024/03/16
19:16 UTC

4

sperm whale sub reopened

please join and post

r/spermwhales

0 Comments
2024/03/13
05:03 UTC

8

Cetacean needed

Best joke on Wikipedia

0 Comments
2024/03/05
21:08 UTC

39

I saw North Atlantic right whales in Provincetown last weekend

I took this video from Race Point Beach near Provincetown Massachusetts last weekend.

6 Comments
2024/01/30
04:46 UTC

8

Wild Dolphin Encounter- curious about behavior

Hi friends! I just wanted to describe and experience I had this morning with some wild dolphins and maybe get some insight about their behavior.

So this morning, my family and I were on an anchored sailboat and decided to take a swim to the nearby beach in Magen’s Bay, USVI. As we jumped off the boat and began our trek, what seemed to be a juvenile bottlenose dolphin completely V-lined it towards us. At first it seemed to be very curious. It hesitantly approached us and then began swimming around us. After it deduced that we were no threat, just 4 clunky mammals struggling about in the water, it started to begin to play with us (I think.) It was swimming through us, around us, twirling, rubbing against us, jumping around us, and even surfacing to look us in the eyes. It was really really really cute. We heard it chirping and clicking underwater, and it seemed to figure out that we couldn’t really hear under water. So then it started chirping at us through its blowhole.

I started to get a bit scared and concerned because it was just so big and so powerful. I saw mama watching us from afar, just making sure we didn’t hurt her baby…. Probably yelling at her son to come back and stop talking to strangers! However, the juvenile dolphin, probably weighing more than me (125lbs F), started swimming between my legs multiple times. It kinda had like a boner. I got a little scared because I heard stories about dolphin behavior and how they are very sexual and communicate through sex and stuff and I was worried about the dolphin trying to do that with me. It was also hitting us with its tail. It wasn’t really hard enough to hurt, just hard enough to move us a little. I know these guys are really strong and could probably really injure us if they wanted to.

I swam back to the dingy and the lil guy followed and jumped and swam around the boat for a bit. I didn’t want to get hurt or humped haha. In the end, the dolphin swam back to its mama and they swam away. Guess he got bored lol! I thought he was a big guy, then I saw him next to mama. that’s when I realized that he was likely a juvenile, being significantly smaller than mama.

It was really an awesome experience. I never felt like I was at the mercy of a wild animal before. At any moment, it could’ve bitten me or hit me really hard and knock me unconscious. That was a little bit scary. Well, a lot a bit scary at the time.

I guess I just Wana know if that was playful or aggressive behavior. The lil guy was a bit relentless and the tail slaps against us were kinda rough. This did induce an adrenaline rush in me and I was so relieved to get onto the dingy.

Overall, this was such an amazing and unique experience. Thanks for reading !

EDIT: the dolphin approached us. We didn’t even see it. It just came up to us. It also did not slap its tail against the water at all. It was rubbing and thrusting its tail against us and I’m not sure what that means. Also, we weren’t touching it, it was touching us.

6 Comments
2024/01/06
17:23 UTC

13

Species ID from this illustration?

Was recently gifted this print. Every other species is obvious except for this beaked whale (?) in the center... Might not be a 1:1 match of any real species, being decorative.

9 Comments
2024/01/04
03:34 UTC

3

Looking for Textbooks or resources.

Hey!

I love Cetacea, more specifically my love lays with the Mysticeti, and I am looking to learn more. However I cannot find any good "hard" resources, like scientific papers and higher level textbooks for my to sink my teeth into. Anyone able to offer a guiding hand?

Thanks!

2 Comments
2023/12/12
18:11 UTC

4

Vaquita Conservation

Hi there,

Apologies if not the right forum. I'm looking to contribute to a conservation organization or program working on the urgent and imminent catastrophe of the Vaquita porpoise, of which recent reports in the past few months state there are 10 or less in the wild. Research online doesn't unveil too much, aside from a very suspect organization called Sea Shepherd. Wondering if other avenues were available.

Feeling melancholy. Wondering if there's any way a sad Canadian can do what they can from a million miles away. Thanks

1 Comment
2023/11/25
06:02 UTC

3

Need help with providing feedback on orca sighting dashboard!

Hi everyone!

I'm with Orcasound, a non-profit organization committed to orca conservation in the Pacific Northwest. We're eager to improve our dashboard for displaying orca sightings and value your input. It should only take 30 minutes. As a non-profit with budget constraints, please understand that we can't offer compensation, but your feedback is invaluable. Thank you for your understanding.

To sign up to provide feedback, pick a 30-minute meeting time here: https://calendly.com/meganrigney/orcasound-acartia-feedback-session

If you wanted to learn more about our work, here the link to our website:

Orcasound – Listen for whales

Your input will shape orca conservation and marine life exploration. Thanks!

Best,

Shutian

Orcasound User Research team

0 Comments
2023/10/28
03:47 UTC

4

Are these harbor porpoises that I saw off the coast of New Jersey?

0 Comments
2023/09/10
00:51 UTC

4

Why Perucetus colossus was probably not heavier than Balaenoptera musculus

0 Comments
2023/08/29
01:10 UTC

1

Report Beached Whales To Main Offender! - Wanna hear about a conflict of interest? If you find a beached whale in Scotland, and would like to report it, you contact SMASS...

2 Comments
2023/08/10
01:35 UTC

1

10 year old Naturetastic with Henry | Marine Mammals and Protecting our Seas | National Marine Week

Whales and Dolphins, plus sea grass, ghost nets, litter and marine protection areas

0 Comments
2023/07/25
23:23 UTC

15

Who hates those stupid photos people take with dolphins?

Congratulations, you paid a couple hundred dollars to contribute to an intelligent mammal being used to entertain people in a big pool every day.... You're real special!

3 Comments
2023/07/17
17:08 UTC

6

Looking for information about river dolphin legends in South America

Hi! Does anyone know anything or have books/webpages/resources about indigenous legends involving magical and shapeshifting dolphins in South America? Is the available information just scarce? I looked online in Spanish and English and only found some mentions and overviews of these stories within articles about the dolphins' natural history (which is also interesting).

I'd be glad to hear about any other interesting whale histories or facts if anyone has some.

Thank you!

4 Comments
2023/06/25
22:30 UTC

3

Can anybody help me identify what species I observed today in Boston harbor?

3 Comments
2023/06/12
03:35 UTC

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