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Pilot whale

How we need to support Faroese communities to end the whale and dolphin hunts

Hayley Flanagan Hayley is WDC's engagement officer, specializing in creating brilliant content for our website...
Hope the inflatable whale

Meet a whale called Hope

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Harbour porpoise. Image: Charlie Phillips/WDC

Speaking up for the little guys – WDC in action

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Humpback whale fluke in Alaska.

An unforgettable first encounter – observing the whales we work to protect

I have kept a dark secret since joining WDC back in June 2021. Despite my...

Potential breeding ground identified for the Baltic Sea harbour porpoise

After two years of data collection and two years of statistical analyses, the EU Life+-funded project SAMBAH (Static Acoustic Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Harbour Porpoise) has estimated the critically endangered Baltic Sea harbour porpoise population to approximately 450 animals.

The data – harbour porpoise echolocation signals recorded through acoustic data loggers called C-PODs – show a clear distinction between the population inhabiting the Baltic Proper, and the more abundant population in the Western Baltic, Belt Seas and Kattegat area during May – December, the months important for reproduction. The Baltic population has been found to be concentrated mainly around the Midsjö offshore banks southeast of Öland during the summer breeding season when females give birth and mating takes place. Porpoise presence in this area was previously virtually unknown.

For the first time key questions on the abundance and distribution of the unique harbour porpoise population in the Baltic Sea can be answered and the results are expected to contribute to improved conservation status of the Baltic harbour porpoise. Four hundred and fifty might sound a lot, but it’s a small population and every individual counts!

To read more about the SAMBAH project go to https://www.sambah.org/