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Amazon river dolphins leaping

Endangered river dolphins die in Amazon drought

Over 100 endangered pink river dolphins have died in an area of the Amazon over...
Fin whale

Short and cruel hunt season ends in Iceland

The shortened Icelandic fin whale hunts season has finished with a final total of 23...
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,...

Whale snot secrets revealed by flying robot

Scientists have come up with a novel way of collecting data in order to understand more about whales. The SnotBot is a small drone that can hover over a whale and then collect samples of snot, or whale blow as it is more accurately named. The drones are equipped with petri dishes and can retrieve the particles exhaled through the whale’s blowhole as the creature comes up for air.

When studied in detail, whale blow can reveal information about the whale’s DNA, metabolism, health, hormones and stress. The SnotBot is also equipped with cameras and microphones to collect a range of other valuable data.

This kind of non-invasive research is in stark contrast to the whale research undertaken by Japan, whose vessels have just left port once again to kill whales so that they can be dissected and supposedly studied for scientific reasons.

Distinctive colour of blue whale