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.
Efforts to rescue a humpback whale stranded for weeks on Germany's Baltic Sea coast were complicated Monday when the animal unexpectedly swam away but then appeared to have got stuck again.
Ecology
Apr 20, 2026
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A humpback whale's likely final days in the Baltic Sea have been livestreamed across the globe as multiple rescue efforts failed to coax it back into deeper waters while the marine mammal gets sicker and weaker.
Ecology
Apr 20, 2026
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31
A new study has shown that whale calls are reduced by as much as 50% in response to seismic surveys, which are commonly used to find oil and gas reserves. Researchers are worried that such surveys could impact vulnerable ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 14, 2026
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23
A new study led by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals that endangered sei whales regularly use the New York Bight as a key spring habitat, underscoring ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 6, 2026
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9
Thousands of endangered species in British Columbia are not receiving the help they need to survive, according to new Simon Fraser University research. B.C. is Canada's most biodiverse province, but analysis of nearly 20 ...
Ecology
Apr 1, 2026
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9
A humpback whale struggling in shallow waters off Germany's northern Baltic Sea coast has freed itself for a third time, a police spokesman told AFP on Tuesday.
Ecology
Mar 31, 2026
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A humpback whale struggling in shallow waters off Germany's northern Baltic Sea coast has become stranded for a third time, experts said on Sunday, just hours after the animal had freed itself from a sandbank.
Plants & Animals
Mar 30, 2026
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40
A stranded humpback whale in Germany 's Baltic Sea looks weaker, and experts fear it won't be able to find its way back to the Atlantic despite several attempts at its rescue this week.
Ecology
Mar 29, 2026
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116
The Mediterranean Sea is home to some of the ocean's largest animals. Among the nine species of cetaceans commonly found along its western shores are the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus, the world's second-largest marine ...
Ecology
Mar 17, 2026
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13
From sea turtles to birds and the gentle dugong, the Persian Gulf's diverse but fragile marine life is threatened by the bombs and oil of the war in the Middle East.
Ecology
Mar 17, 2026
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