Rorquals are baleen whales of the family Balaenopteridae, characterized by elongate bodies, pleated ventral grooves (ventral furrows), and generally falcate dorsal fins, and include genera such as Balaenoptera and Megaptera. They are specialized lunge feeders, using expandable throat pleats and a distensible buccal cavity to engulf large volumes of prey-laden water, which is then filtered through keratinous baleen plates. Rorquals exhibit extreme body-size evolution, with several species among the largest animals known, and show distinct migratory behavior between high-latitude feeding grounds and low-latitude breeding areas, playing major roles in marine trophic dynamics and biogeochemical cycling.
When a humpback whale became entangled in a craypot line off Kaikōura last week, witnesses described it thrashing in distress for ten minutes before eventually freeing itself.
Plants & Animals
May 26, 2026
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Ferries, cargo ships and tankers cut through choppy waters in the San Francisco Bay Tuesday as a whale surfaced nearby, its spout barely visible against the white caps. Until now, whales could easily go unnoticed by mariners, ...
Ecology
May 20, 2026
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An international team of scientists have documented, for the first time, humpback whales traveling between breeding grounds in eastern Australia and Brazil, crossing more than 14,000 kilometers of open ocean. The findings ...
Plants & Animals
May 19, 2026
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A humpback whale found dead this week off a Danish island has been identified as the animal released two weeks ago in a spectacular and contentious rescue effort, after repeatedly becoming stranded off Germany's Baltic Sea ...
Ecology
May 16, 2026
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Conflicts in the Middle East are increasing dangers for whales off South Africa by shifting sea traffic into their habitats and heightening the risks of collision, researchers told AFP.
Ecology
May 11, 2026
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128
A rescue team on Saturday released from a barge in the North Sea a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, witnesses said.
Ecology
May 3, 2026
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German rescuers on Tuesday hauled a stranded humpback whale into a special boat due to carry it to deeper waters, in the latest attempt to free the cetacean whose ordeal has captured hearts in Germany for weeks.
Ecology
Apr 28, 2026
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265
A paper in Genome Biology and Evolution discovers that the endangered Mediterranean fin whale is not completely isolated from Atlantic groups. Both Atlantic and Mediterranean populations have declined for the past 200,000 ...
Evolution
Apr 28, 2026
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82
Trying to find a whale song in the ocean is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But now, UNSW Sydney researchers say they've trained a model, with just a single case study, to find blue whale songs in recordings that ...
Ecology
Apr 24, 2026
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114
A humpback whale repeatedly restranding in shallow waters in the Baltic Sea for more than three weeks has become the focus of a complex debate about reconciling compassion for animals with ethical, evidence-based decision ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 22, 2026
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