Search Results for: Whale

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1,343 results
  1. A fisher stands in waist-deep water with a fishing line as he looks at a dolphin breaking through the surface
    Animals

    Here are 3 people-animal collaborations besides dolphins and Brazilians

    Dolphins working with people to catch fish recently made a big splash. But humans and other animals have cooperated throughout history.

    By Darren Incorvaia
  2. photo of six gray sperm whales diving down from the ocean surface
    Animals

    ‘Wonderful nets’ of blood vessels protect dolphin and whale brains during dives

    Complex networks of blood vessels called retia mirabilia that are associated with cetaceans’ brains and spines have long been a mystery.

    By Claudia López Lloreda
  3. Tropical fish biologist Mark Meekan, in a dive suit, swims near the nose of a whale shark.
    Animals

    Whale sharks may be the world’s largest omnivores

    An analysis of the sharks’ skin shows that the animals eat and digest algae.

    By Freda Kreier
  4. An illustration of Shonisaurus popularis, ancient dolphinlike reptiles, swimming in water
    Paleontology

    Mysterious ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground

    Some 230 million years ago, massive dolphinlike reptiles gathered to breed in safe waters — just like many modern whales do, a study finds.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  5. a photo of a jojoba shrub branch of with green acorn shaped seeds hanging off of it

    50 years ago, scientists thought a desert shrub might help save endangered whales

    Fifty years ago, scientists sought a sustainable alternative to prized oil from endangered sperm whales.

    By Maria Temming
  6. photo of orcas stripping the flesh off a blue whale calf’s flank
    Animals

    Gory footage confirms orca pods can kill adult blue whales

    For the first time, three recorded events show that orcas do hunt and eat blue whales using coordinated attacks that have worked on other large whales.

    By Anna Gibbs
  7. aerial photo of a fin whale breaching the ocean surface with its mouth open
    Animals

    A ‘trapdoor’ made of muscle and fat helps fin whales eat without choking

    An “oral plug” may explain how lunge-feeding fin whales don’t choke and drown as they fill their mouths with prey and water while eating.

    By Sharon Oosthoek
  8. two humpback whales emerging from the ocean to feed
    Animals

    Baleen whales eat (and poop) a lot more than we realized

    The sheer volume of food that some whales eat and then excrete suggests the animals shape ecosystems to a much larger degree than previously thought.

    By Jonathan Lambert

  9. A new Science News for the young people in your life

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute introduces Science News Explores, our new print magazine for young people.

    By Nancy Shute
  10. two museum works place a 8-meter-long model of a megalodon shark in a museum display
    Paleontology

    Megatooth sharks may have been higher on the food chain than any ocean animal ever

    Some megalodons and their ancestors were the ultimate apex predators, outeating all known marine animals, researchers report.

    By Asa Stahl
  11. three gray wolves standing in the snow
    Life

    A parasite makes wolves more likely to become pack leaders

    In Yellowstone National Park, gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions, making them more likely to split off from the pack.

    By Jake Buehler
  12. illustration of megalodon about to eat a pod of toothed whales
    Paleontology

    Great white sharks may have helped drive megalodons to extinction

    Analyzing zinc levels in shark teeth hints that megalodons and great whites competed with each other for food.

    By Carolyn Gramling