Answer 1: Life’s tough, and more to the point, finite. So, animals die, even the charismatic ones that humans like. That’s Nature.
Answer 2: Some thing, or things, are happening in the ocean, and these are signs of that.
I don’t know what the answer is, but there have been a lot of stories lately about marine [...]
Posts under ‘Oceans’
Why are marine mammals washing up dead?
Squid surveillance, in several ways
I find squid pretty inherently interesting. They’re believed to be smart, and I’d call them beautiful, but they’re also so alien to our terrestrial, vertebrate selves.
Even more interesting, or perhaps alarming, is what’s happening with the Humboldt squid in B.C. waters.
First, why are they here? They’re native to northern Mexico, but in the past [...]
A decent year for some threatened whales
One whale story begets another, I suppose.
Researching another story this week on humpbacks, I called up Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard at the Vancouver Aquarium. He’s a scientist with a gift for speaking clearly, and he studies marine mammals on our coast. He’s also the co-chair of the Killer Whale Recovery Team organized by Fisheries and [...]
Are humpbacks still endangered?
When I worked on B.C.’s Central Coast in the summer of 2000, seeing a humpback whale was a rare treat. They’re huge, but far more acrobatic than their grey whale cousins we were studying.
The good news is: seeing a humpback whale in the North Pacific isn’t as rare anymore.
They’re considered threatened in Canada, and for [...]