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WDC exposes failure of Government scheme to protect whales and dolphins from net deaths

Following our investigations, we have revealed that a UK Government scheme to protect whales and...

First cases of bird flu in dolphins discovered in the UK

The UK Government has announced that two dolphins and a harbour porpoise have died from...
Kiska the orca

Kiska the ‘world’s loneliest whale’ dies at Canadian theme park

Kiska, dubbed the loneliest whale in the world, has died at Marineland, a zoo and...

Man charged in US for harassing whale

Police in the US are investigating reports of a man known as 'Dolphin Dave' repeatedly...

Research uncovers more secrets about how whales ‘talk’

Scientists in Germany have moved a step nearer to understanding the different dialects that whales use when they communicate with each other.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization used computers to analyse a range of aspects of long-finned pilot whale communication, such as whistles, and then built up a ‘set of rules’ or patterns of communication.

Whales have their own cultures of communication, similar to the way a human might pick up an accent, or way of speaking, from parents.  The patterns of sounds of the various different groups of pilot whales studied in the waters around Norway indicated that each group ‘talked’ in its own particular way – with its own distinct dialect.

This research is yet another fascinating insight that reveals how these intelligent creatures live in their close social groups, some passing on knowledge from one generation to the next, and why WDC is working towards international recognition of the rights of whales and dolphins.

More on this story.

 Long finned pilot whales