Whales
Find out everything there is to know about whales and stay updated on the latest whale news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and whale pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about these fascinating creatures as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about whales.
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Sperm whales drop giant poop bombs to save themselves from orca attack
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
A pod of sperm whales flung their poop at unsuspecting orcas to avoid a fatal attack.
Beluga whales appear to change the shape of their melon heads to communicate, scientists discover
By Richard Pallardy published
Beluga whales appear to change the shape of their heads during encounters with one another in what scientists believe is a form of visual communication among this highly social species.
Why some whales go through menopause
By Gennaro Tomma published
Toothed whales appear to have lengthened their lifespan without lengthening their reproductive life so they can help care for their grandchildren, a new study suggests.
7,000 humpback whales died in the North Pacific over 10 years — and 'the blob' is to blame
By Elise Poore published
New research using artificial intelligence reveals that a decline in the North Pacific population of humpback whales between 2012 and 2021 coincided with the strongest marine heat wave recorded globally.
Male humpback whale seen forcing sex on emaciated, injured male in extremely rare encounter
By Sascha Pare published
Photographs taken off Maui, Hawaii, show the first documented case of a male humpback whale sexually penetrating another male, with the latter appearing injured and covered in parasites.
Critically endangered right whales are shrinking, with drastic consequences for their population
By Melissa Hobson published
Climate change appears to be causing North Atlantic right whales to get smaller, and it's making them have fewer babies.
Eerie photograph captures whales hunted off Greenland lying in their watery grave
By Hannah Osborne published
Haunting image showing two whales with their bones picked clean off the coast of Greenland has won the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 competition.
Hidden DNA found in blue whales reveals they've been mating with other species — and their hybrid offspring
By Harry Baker published
Newly sequenced genomes of blue whales in the Atlantic Ocean contain "unexpectedly high" levels of fin whale DNA, hinting that the two species have been interbreeding much more than previously realized.
Whale with broken back spotted near Mexico after suspected ship collision will likely die
By Hannah Osborne published
A humpback whale off Baja California Sur with a deformed spine was likely hit by a ship and the injury will probably be fatal, an expert told Live Science.
Scientists finally figure out why hundreds of gray whales keep washing up dead along US coasts
By Sascha Pare published
Three mass mortality events have struck a population of gray whales off the west coast of North America since the 1980s, and scientists have linked them to changing conditions in the Arctic.
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