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Bottlenose dolphins breaching

Landmark report reveals UK wildlife’s devastating decline

With whales and dolphins already facing many threats, a landmark report released this week reveals...
Dolphins with oil rig

Go ahead for new UK oil and gas exploration threatens whales and dolphins

Permission has been granted for the development of the UK's biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland,...
Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...

Toxic chemicals found in brains of beached whales

Scientists at Aberdeen University have found high levels of chemical toxins in the bodies of a pod of whales stranded in Scotland three years ago.

The pilot whales were found to be contaminated with mercury and cadmium in all organs, including the brain. This is thought to be the first time that cadmium has been shown to have passed through a natural barrier in the brain that prevents such materials from entering.

The report also suggests that this toxic ‘stress’ increases the longer the whales live, and that the possibility that the chemicals were a factor in the whales navigating off course could not be ruled out.