By Globe Staff
Scientists today are continuing to monitor two female right whales off Cape Cod that were spotted earlier this week with rope tangled in their mouths.
The entanglement is “relatively mild” and because the rope is not wrapped around other body parts, “no immediate threat exists,” according to a press release from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.
Both of the whales are breeding females, which are particularly valuable because there are less than 400 still alive. “They help this critically endangered species recover by reproducing and thus adding to the population,” said Tanya Gabettie, a spokesperson for the Center for Coastal Studies, in an e-mail.
An aerial survey team noticed the first whale Tuesday afternoon during a routine flyover of Cape Cod Bay. The whale, which researchers know by the number 2645, was diving and feeding with at least 10 other whales. The Center for Coastal Studies sent a disentanglement team in a boat to get a closer look.
Scientists today are continuing to monitor two female right whales off Cape Cod that were spotted earlier this week with rope tangled in their mouths.
The entanglement is “relatively mild” and because the rope is not wrapped around other body parts, “no immediate threat exists,” according to a press release from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.
Both of the whales are breeding females, which are particularly valuable because there are less than 400 still alive. “They help this critically endangered species recover by reproducing and thus adding to the population,” said Tanya Gabettie, a spokesperson for the Center for Coastal Studies, in an e-mail.
An aerial survey team noticed the first whale Tuesday afternoon during a routine flyover of Cape Cod Bay. The whale, which researchers know by the number 2645, was diving and feeding with at least 10 other whales. The Center for Coastal Studies sent a disentanglement team in a boat to get a closer look.
The team noticed another whale, which is know by the nickname Wart, that also had rope caught in its jaws. Both whales appeared to be feeding normally, despite the rope. However, scars on the whales indicated that the entanglement was once more severe, officials said.
This year that have been four reported right whale entanglements off the East Coast, including the pair spotted Tuesday.
This year that have been four reported right whale entanglements off the East Coast, including the pair spotted Tuesday.
Report: Sonar use could harm whales (click here)
By James Halpin, Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A naval exercise off the Australian coast using submarine-hunting sonar could kill whales or cause them to become stranded, the International Whaling Commission warned in a report.
Environmental groups say the mid-frequency sonar U.S. and Australian forces plan to use can cause hearing loss and tissue damage in whales and can alter their diving habits. Deep-diving species such as the beaked whale are especially at risk, they say, because rapid surfacing can result in the bends, a decompression sickness that can be fatal.
"The reality is the strandings are only the tip of the iceberg," said Marsha Green of the Ocean Mammal Institute. "Most of the animals that are injured are going to die and sink to the bottom."
The biennial exercise, from June 19 to July 2, will be held off the Australian coast near Queensland and the Northern Territory. More than 20,000 U.S. and 7,500 Australian troops are expected to take part. The exercise will include 125 aircraft and 30 vessels, officials said.
"This is an area where there are beaked whales, and beaked whales have been sensitive to mid-frequency sonar," IWC scientific committee chairman Arne Bjorge told The Associated Press at the group's annual meeting, held in Anchorage last week....
