Blue whales are the largest mammals, and possibly the largest animal of any kind to have lived on Earth. A 33-metre long, 190-tonne whale has been seen, but most are smaller than this.
Blues were hunted to the brink of extinction during the 20th Century, before being protected in the mid-1960s. The most recent abundance estimate for the Southern Hemisphere is 2,300 and there is evidence they are increasing annually by about 7%. There are no good estimates for numbers in other areas, but there is some evidence of a population increase in the North Atlantic.
Status: Endangered
The two species of minke are the world's most hunted whales. Japan targets about 950 a year for its research programmes. Commercially, Norway issues quotas to hunt about 1,000 per year, while Icelandic boats catch about 50 per year. Greenland's Inuit hunters can take up to 212 for subsistence purposes.
Estimates of minke numbers for the Southern Hemisphere are currently under scientific review, but there are probably more than 450,000. There are more than 145,000 in the North Atlantic and about 25,000 in the western North Pacific.
There is a single species of gray whale split between two populations in the Pacific. The western North Pacific gray is one of the most endangered in the world, numbering about 130. The eastern Pacific gray, by contrast, has recovered to its pre-exploitation levels of about 20,000.
The eastern gray is famous for its epic migration which takes it from the cold Bering and Chukchi seas to the warm waters of Mexico to breed and calve a round trip of 20,000km. No more than 140 eastern grays a year can be taken by US and Russian subsistence hunters.
Status: Lower risk
Humpback whale
One of the best known whales because of their distinctive flippers and tail flukes, their acrobatic "breaching", and for the singing males on the breeding grounds.
Once heavily exploited, the humpback has been protected since the mid-1960s and is increasing in many parts of the world. There are probably now more than 30,000 in the Southern Hemisphere, 15,000 in the North Atlantic and 18,000 in the North Pacific. Four whales per year can be taken by aboriginal subsistence hunters in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Status: Vulnerable
Bryde's whales are found mainly in tropical or subtropical seas. They were long confused with sei whales. There are no agreed estimates, although there are thought to be about around 25,000 in the western North Pacific.
They were only exploited in any numbers towards the end of the commercial whaling period in the early 1980s just before the moratorium came into place. Japan's scientific whaling programme will take up to 50 Bryde's whales a year in the western North Pacific.
Status: Insufficient data to list
The bowhead is a single species - closely related to the right whale - and is remarkable for being the only baleen whale to spend all its time in Arctic waters. The bowhead's huge, bony skull allows it to break through the sea-ice.
There are thought to be more than 17,000 in existence. The bowhead is a target for indigenous hunters in Alaska, Chukotka and Greenland who are allowed to catch no more than 69 individuals a year under IWC rules.
Status: Lower risk
Made famous in Moby Dick, sperm whales have been hunted since the 17th Century.
It is the only "great whale" with teeth. Sperm whale oil once lit the lamps of the major cities of the US and Europe; and after WWII, 30,000 a year were being caught. They have been protected since 1982.
There are no agreed current estimates of number. Some authors believe the historical population worldwide may have been 1-2 million, and that there may now be 360,000-1 million.
Japan has issued a scientific permit to take up to 10 sperm whales in the North Pacific.
Status: Vulnerable
The fast-swimming sei whale was caught in great numbers in the Antarctic in the 1960s, after the blue, fin and humpback stocks had been overexploited. Japan has issued a permit to take up to 100 sei whales in the North Pacific for research.
There are no agreed estimates of current numbers in the Antarctic. In 1989, the North Atlantic population was estimated at 10,500, and claims have been made for numbers ranging from 9,000-28,000 in the western North Pacific.
It has been protected since the late 1970s in the Antarctic and North Pacific, and since 1982 in the North Atlantic.
Status: Endangered
The fin whale is the second-largest whale species after the blue, to which it is genetically close. Fin-blue whale hybrids are known.
There are no agreed estimates of current population, although there are some signs of recovery in parts of the Southern Hemisphere where it has been protected since 1976. There are about 40-50,000 in the North Atlantic, where up to 19 per year can be taken by Greenlandic aboriginal hunters.
Japan has recently added the fin to its list of science targets and plans to take 50 per year. Iceland has also caught small numbers commercially in recent years.
Status: Endangered
There are three recognised species of rights. By studying the genetics of parasitic whale "lice", scientists estimate the split ocurred 5-6 million years ago. They are so called because they were the "right" whales to hunt - slow, swimming close to shore and would float when killed.
The right whale has been protected since the 1930s, although illegal Soviet whaling took large numbers in the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere up to the 1970s. Two of the three species are on the brink of extinction. There are only about 200 surviving in the North Pacific, and perhaps fewer than 400 in the North Atlantic.
The Southern Hemisphere species numbers about 8,000 to 10,000.
Status: Endangered (North Pacific and North Atlantic species)and Lower Risk (Southern species)
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Feb, 12:25
Spirit Of The Sea
Whale Medicine
Native Americans teach us that the Great Spirit speaks to us through our animal brethren. The whale is one animal that we can learn from. Whales have existed for over 50 million years and are considered to be record-keepers who possess knowledge of the past.
It is through the vibrations of their unique sound that they release this ancient wisdom to us. At the same time, their sound carries across such great distances that whales can enter the realm of the future where they can acquire knowledge of what is to come. Every whale sings a song, and they never repeat the same pattern when they sing their song. Since whales must be conscious at all times in order to breathe, they cannot afford to fall into an unconscious state for too long. Never completely asleep, their brain has constant access to the collective unconscious where all answers lie. Whales float peacefully, secure in the ocean environment that supports and sustains them.
You can learn from the wisdom of whales by remembering to express what's uniquely yours. Each of us has a unique "song" or gift to offer the world. Your song is meant to be sung by you and heard by others. No one else can sing this song but you, and your song is medicine for the healing of the planet. Like whales, you can choose to access information about the future when you go into a meditative state. Whales teach us to look at where we came from and where we are headed. Knowing that our past helps shape our future, we can remember to make positive choices regarding our lives, the environment, and our world. Like whales, we can remember to stay awake and actively engaged in a universe that supports and sustains us. When we express ourselves and share our unique gifts, we add our wisdom and vibration to the planet.
Thanks to Dusty for sending this to me 
http://www.listenforwhales.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=434
A whale is swimming near the shipping lanes, occasionally making "up-calls" to stay in touch with other whales in the area. Captains of large, fast-moving ships often can't see them in time to avoid collisions.
New auto-detection buoys installed in some shipping lanes monitor the water for right whale calls 24 hours per day. Calls from whales within 5 nautical miles are loud enough to be recorded on the buoy’s hydrophone, mounted 60 to 120 feet beneath the surface.
Listen to a right whale's up-call here :
http://www.listenforwhales.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=434
All day every day, a computer on each auto-detection buoy analyzes sounds as they arrive. Whales have deep voices, so the software focuses on sounds between 50 and 350 Hertz--roughly spanning the notes on the left-hand half of a piano keyboard. The first step is to separate discrete sounds from background noise, a computing task that’s similar to recognizing an object in a cluttered photograph.
Next, the software estimates each sound's similarity to a right whale up-call. It assesses a dozen characteristics such as starting, minimum, and maximum frequencies, and the sound’s duration. Right whale up-calls are typically about 1 second long and rarely longer than 2 seconds. The software assigns each 2-second segment of sound a score between 1 and 10, with higher numbers indicating the clip sounds more like a right whale. Clips that score less than 6 almost never come from right whales.
The unit keeps a running tally of the 10 highest-scoring sound clips. Every 20 minutes the buoy makes a cell or satellite phone call to a server at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where it uploads its most recent top-ten list, then clears its memory and starts building a new list.
Ten sound clips per buoy transmission mean that the 10-buoy array can yield up to 100 two-second clips every 20 minutes. But some of the sounds don't come from right whales. Humpback whales, especially, can sound like right whales. Other up-call-like sounds can be made by fish or by manmade objects. Listen to whales and other underwater sounds
The detection software is intentionally calibrated to let some of these sound-alikes through. That way, it’s not in danger of ignoring any odd-sounding right whales.
A typical day may see between 50 and 400 clips uploaded to the Bioacoustics Research Program’s servers. The number of false detections--which analysts must sift out from true up-calls before issuing an alert--depends partly on whether right whales are nearby. That's because the detection software rates real right-whale calls highly, leaving less room for false detections on a buoy’s top-ten list. Some days the clips are more than 90 percent actual right-whale up-calls. Other days fewer than 10 percent are right whales.The main recipients of whale alerts are ships headed for a liquefied natural gas terminal located at the western end of the buoy array and operated by Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port.
When ships bound for the terminal are in Massachusetts Bay (roughly once per week when the terminal is operating at full capacity), Cornell sound analysts monitor buoy reports round the clock. Analysts stay on duty from before the ships enter the buoy array until the ship is safely anchored at the terminal. They continuously issue updates to inform the ships which of the 10 buoys have heard a right whale in the last 24 hours.When no natural-gas ships are in the shipping lanes, analysts provide updates every 12 hours for the benefit of other traffic. These summaries are made available to any ship or boat via the Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (SA
operated by NOAA. The reports are available online and are also distributed by e-mail. The information is also incorporated into marine safety bulletins.Auto-detection buoys can hear whales within 5 nautical miles, but they can’t pinpoint their location. So when a tanker bound for the natural gas terminal approaches a buoy that is on alert--meaning it has detected a right whale in the past 24 hours--it slows to less than 10 knots (from open-water cruising speeds of 20 knots or more) and posts a lookout while the ship crosses the buoy’s listening circle.
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An animal welfare problem of major proportions has been uncovered in a new report by WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
PLYMOUTH, Mass., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The report, Shrouded by the sea, reveals the shocking truth behind the entanglement of whales, dolphins and porpoises in fishing nets, estimated to kill more than 300,000 of these animals worldwide each year.
The harrowing details of how whales and dolphins slowly meet their death in fishing nets, many suffering extreme injuries in what can be a protracted underwater struggle, are laid out in the report, based on a new investigation by researchers at the University of Bristol, UK.
WDCS International Director of Science, Mark Simmonds, said: "These deaths are known to be a problem in terms of conservation, with some species being pushed to the brink of extinction. What has not been properly recognised before is the significance of the suffering caused to each animal that gets caught."
As the animal struggles to escape, the gear tightens cutting deeper into the flesh. In extreme cases, fins and tail flukes can be totally or partially amputated. Dead bycaught dolphins are commonly recorded as having broken teeth, beaks or jaws and internal injuries.
Large whales have been found with lacerations deep into their blubber, sometimes to the bone. As they are powerful enough to swim away pulling the gear with them, the rope continues to tighten, resulting in a slow and painful death from infection or starvation.
WDCS calls on governments to act urgently and decisively to end this unacceptable suffering, including changing the way fish are caught and even closing fisheries where there is no way of preventing whale and dolphin bycatch.
In the US, WDCS partnered with the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association and other organisations to develop Masslobster.org. This program supports fishermen using sinking groundline, reducing the amount of line in the water column; this reduces the risk of entanglement for critically endangered Northern right whales.
The repeated chase and encirclement of dolphins in the Eastern Pacific tuna purse seine fishery also causes WDCS concern. Although dolphins are released alive from the nets, the practice causes severe stress and possible long-term health impacts. Lactating females have been found in the nets, with no sign of their calves, which if permanently separated from their mothers, will likely die.
Kate O'Connell from WDCS-North America said "The Bush Administration has been slow, even failed, to act to protect whales and dolphins, putting politics ahead of science. We call on the Obama Administration to 'disentangle' the process that Bush politicized, and to develop conservation and management guidelines for fisheries that take animal welfare concerns into consideration, thus affording whales and dolphins the protections that science shows they desperately need."
For more information, images, or a copy of the report:
Regina Asmutis-Silvia, 508-451-3853 regina.asmutis-silvia@wdcs.org
Kate O'Connell, 860.236.1521 kate.oconnell@wdcs.org
SOURCE Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
Atlantic Humpbacked Dolphin (Sousa teuszii)
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)
Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)
Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Chilean Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus eutropia)
Clymene Dolphin (Stenella clymene)
Commerson's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii)
Dusky Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus)
Fraser's Dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei)
Heaviside's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii)
Hector's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)
Hourglass Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus cruciger)
Indo-Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin (Sousa chinensis; Sousa plumbea)
Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris)
Long-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus capensis)
Northern Rightwhale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis)
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens)
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata)
Peale's Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus australis)
Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus)
Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis)
Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
Southern Rightwhale Dolphin (Lissiodelphis peronii)
Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)
Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis)
White-Beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris)
River Dolphins (Family Platanistoidae, Iniidae, & Pontoporiidae)
Amazon River Dolphin (Boto) (Inia geoffrensis)
Chinese River Dolphin (Baiji) (Lipotes vexillifer)
Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)
Indus River Dolphin (Platanista minor)
La Plata River Dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei)
Porpoises (Family Phocoenidae)
Burmeister's Porpoise (Phocoena spinnipinnis)
Dall's Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)
Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides)
Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
Spectacled Porpoise (Australophocaena dioptrica)
Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)
White Whales (Family Monodontidae)
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas)
Narwhal (Monodon monocerus)
Beaked Whales (Family Ziphiidae)
Andrews' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bowdoini)
Arnoux's Beaked Whale (Beradius arnuxii)
Baird's Beaked Whale (Beradius bairdii)
Bahamonde's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bahamondi)
Blainville's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris)
Gervais' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon europaeus)
Ginkgo-Toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens)
Gray's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon grayi)
Hector's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon hectori)
Hubbs' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon carlhubbsi)
Lesser Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon peruvianus)
Longman's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon pacificus)
Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)
Shepherd's Beaked Whale (Tasmacetus sherpherdi)
Southern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon planifrons)
Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens)
Stejneger's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon stejnegeri)
Straptoothed Whale (Mesoplodon layardii)
True's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon mirus)
Unidentified Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon 'species A')
- Baleen whales (whales without teeth) are members of the Mysticeti suborder.
- Toothed whales, like the sperm whale, along with all the dolphins and porpoises, make up the suborder Odontoceti.
- Altogether, the two suborders contain over eighty known species, further separated into thirteen different families.
- Each family of whales is further classified into sub-families, or genera, of which there are 40.
- Balaenoptidae
- Balaenidae
- Neobalaenidae
- Eschrichtiidae.
Baleen Whales (Suborder Mysticeti)
Rorqual Whales (Family Balaenopteridae)
Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera edeni)
Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Right Whales
(Family Balaenidae & Neobalaenidae)
Northern Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis)
Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus)
Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata)
Gray Whales (Family Eschrichtiidae)
Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Toothed Whales
(Suborder Odontoceti)
Sperm Whales
(Family Physeteridae & Kogiidae )
Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps)
Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia simus)
Dolphins and Porpoises (Family Delphinidae)
Large Oceanic Dolphins (Blackfish)
Orca (Killer Whale) (Orcinus orca)
False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata)
Melon-Headed Whale (Peponocephala electra)
Long-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas)
Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Dec, 11:31
, are dolphins too. 
*whale*: An animal that lives in the water that has a blowhole, pectoral flippers, and tail flukes. Whales are marine mammals that spend their entire lives in the water - usually in the ocean, but some live in freshwater rivers. There are about 80 different kinds of whales found throughout the world. (Note: Many people do not realize that dolphins are whales.) Examples include spinner dolphins, finless porpoises, and blue whales.
Whale Watch
This site gives statistics on whales and their migration. There are audio clips and photographs of whales. NOTE: Requires RealPlayer.
ThinkQuest: The Majesty of Whales
This site includes information about the whale anatomy and facts about different kinds of whales. There are also suggestions on how to help protect whales.
Whale Gallery
This multimedia page includes links to pictures, video clips, and audio files of whales.
Whale Dreams
Students can learn about whales in Australia, characteristics of whales, and hear their songs.
Whale Songs
Learn about the different kinds of whales and test your whale knowledge in "Cetacean Trivia". There are also lesson plans.
World Animals for Kids
Review the facts of whales: classification, characteristics, life cycle, and senses.
Enchanted Learning: All About Whales
The site has lots of information and printouts for kids about whales.
Creature Feature: Orcas (Killer Whales)
Kids can read about killer whales at this National Geographic site. There are descriptions, facts, audio, video,and maps. NOTE: Requires RealPlayer.
National Geographic: Audio Clips
Listen to these minke whale songs from National Geographic. There are two different calls. NOTE: Requires RealPlaye or Windows Media.
Defenders of Wildlife
There are many links to information on specific whales, sonar that harms whales, adopting whales, and whale protection.
Quia: Whales
Here are three games about whales for students to play.
Whale of a Quiz
Student can answer the 10 questions about whales
Student Projects
Read the research papers done by students and take the whale quiz.
Teacher Resource
This resource provides lots of background information on whales. There are also suggested books and whales and a classroom activity.
Scholastic: Whale Migration Map
This map shows where whales often migrate. Includes comprehension questions over the map.
Wonder World of Whales
These activities include a hands-on experiment about blubber, size comparison charts, and more. The reproducibles are included.
Whale Times
This site has facts on whales, whale stories, and whale games for kids.
Fact Monster: Whales
This online encyclopedia has information about whales. Learn about their characteristics, behaviors, classification, and whaling. NOTE: The site has pop-up ads.
eThemes Resource: Animals: Ocean and Sea Creatures
Learn more about the hundreds of creatures that live in the oceans and seas. Includes many photos and videos, audio files, and real-time images from Webcams. The animals covered include whales, jellyfish, dolphins, sea turtles, seahorses, and more. Includes links to eThemes Resources on Geography: Oc
