(NECN/TVNZ) – Whale researchers returned from Antarctic waters on Monday after a six-week expedition that they said proved Japan’s annual kill of whales for scientific purposes is unnecessary. During the voyage, Australian, French and New Zealand scientists used non- lethal techniques to study whales.
It was a challenge to Japan’s scientific program, which kills up to thousand of the mammals a year, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 ban on commercial whaling.
Critics say the programme is a front for commercial whaling, with the whale meat sold for consumption in Japan.
The expedition that ended on Monday was the first in a five-year research programme in Antarctica that was proposed by the Australian government and agreed to by the IWC.
The scientists’ research focused on whale numbers, what they eat, how they move between food patches and how they travel to and from their breeding grounds in the central Pacific.
“All of those questions can be and are being answered using non-lethal techniques,” expedition leader Nick Gales told reporters on Monday.
A Japanese Fisheries Agency official in charge of whaling issues, told The Associated Press in Tokyo there are some data that can only be obtained through lethal ways, including age, stomach contents and fertility rate.
He said Japan is open to any new non-lethal methods if they are proven effective.
Peter Garrett, Australia’s environment minister, said in a statement that the research showed “effective and achievable ways to collect a whole range of important data without the need to kill these mammals.”
The scientists counted mainly humpback whales, taking photos and biopsy samples from 60 of them, and attaching satellite tracking devices to about 30 of the animals to study their feeding and travel patterns.
The researchers found fairly strong recovery in some populations of humpback whales, but Gales said blue whale numbers are down around two percent from what they once were in Antarctic waters, after being “enormously heavily exploited during the industrial whaling era.”
The group saw quite a few Antarctic minke whales along the ice edge, Gales said, but the scientists were unable to study them because of difficult ice and weather conditions.
Minke whales make up the bulk of Japan’s annual hunt in Antarctic waters.
Other member countries of the 13-nation Southern Ocean Research Partnership will participate in future trips, Gales said.
Results of the voyage will be reported to the IWC at its annual meeting in Agadir, Morocco, in June.
Rescuers are renewing their efforts this morning to free the remaining dolphins stranded on Cape Cod. Several teams are in Wellfleet, trying to coax more of the Atlantic white-sided dolphins back into the ocean when high tide rolls in.
(NECN) – So what about the push to Free Tilly the killer whale?
Many scientists say Tilly could never survive in the wild, but are now suggesting the use of a sea pen
A sea pen is an enclosure in the ocean that would give him more space, while also keeping him away from humans.
But others point to the death of a whale named Keiko, star of the movie Free Willy back in the 1990s.
Millions of dollars were spent on attempts to return Keiko to the wild, including supervised swims in the open ocean.
In the end, Keiko died emaciated and suffering from pneumonia in Norway.
But while Keiko did not survive, many still say Tilly could be released to that sea pen we mentioned.
Dr. Naomi Rose is a marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States.
Dr Rose believes Tilly would benefit from the move.
Dr. Rose joins us Vicki from Washington DC to talk more.
(NECN) – You may remember seeing video of a circus elephant named Tyke rampaging through the streets of Hawaii or reading about the day Franklin Park’s gorilla Little Joe escaped.
These incidents couldn’t have been more different and yet we in the public may lump them together and misunderstand them equally.
Joining Vicki Croke on the Secret Life of Animals is John Linehan, head of Zoo New England.
He’s a man whose work Vicki really respects and who can thoughtfully give the viewer a little perspective on why zoo animals may attack or run away
John call also talk about what it does or-just as important-doesn’t mean about them and their life in captivity.
(NECN) – The president of SeaWorld last week defended the park’s killer whale shows following the death of a trainer.
One thing we’ve learned from all the coverage of the incident involving Tilikum the killer whale and trainer Dawn Brancheau is that there certainly are warring camps in the animal world.
Each side reads very different things into what happened.
Joining Vicki with a free-for-all analysis are two men much too civilized to fight — AJ Cady of IFAW and John Linehan of Zoo New England.
Planning a family vacation this spring? Check out some of the animals you’ll find at SeaWorld – on The Secret Life of Animals!
To learn more about how you can plan a trip to any of SeaWorld’s three locations, just log on to their Web site:
http://www.seaworld.com/
Things got wild on NECN Morning, as a new group of friends made their way into the studio.
Angie Llanas, an animal ambassador at Sea World, showcased Dennis Hopper, the kangaroo, and friends Pete and Penny, a pair of Magellanic penguins. Among the group were an American alligator and black & white ruffed lemur.
These animals can be seen at the Boston Globe Travel Show:
- February 19th-21st
- Seaport World Trade Center in Boston
- Tickets are $ 10 for Saturday and Sunday; preview Friday night
- www.BostonGlobeTravelShow.com
Some fun facts on these animals:
Kangaroo baby
- Adult males box to determine dominance, with the strongest male becoming the head of the mob.
- While running at speeds of 12 mph, these kangaroos are able to reach 35 mph in short bursts
- Inhabit grasslands near water and with a nearby forest or woodland.
- They have short forearms, strong hind legs, and long broad back feet for hopping and standing upright.
Magellanic penguins
- Temperate species of penguin native to the coasts of Chile and Argentina
- 60 feathers per square inch for insulation
- Live in burrows
American alligator
- Can grow larger than 12 feet and 1,000 pounds
- Have a third eyelid that they can see through to protect their eyes while swimming/hunting underwater
- They were hunted nearly to extinction in the 1960s; now their populations are thriving
Black & white ruffed lemur
- Native to Madagascar; approximately 60 species of lemur live on the island off the east coast of Africa
- Use their fluffy tail to attract females
- This species of lemur spends the majority of its time in the treetops; may never touch the ground their entire life
Slow down – and get an up-close view of a tortoise living at the Museum of Science in Boston. Animal curator Bunny Watson gives us the rundown on this incredible reptile.
If you’d like to learn more about the education programs at the Museum of Science in Boston, just log on to their Web site:
http://www.mos.org/
(NECN) – On the Secret Life of Animals, Vicki Croke turns now to a bird that recently made headlines for its rare appearance in Massachusetts.
Video of a beautiful allen’s humming bird, a native species of California, was caught just a few weeks ago in snowy Harwich-Port on Cape Cod.
For a while, the bird was constantly sipping sugar-water from one woman’s feeder, trying to stay fueled to fight off the cold.
But eventually, the hummingbird ended up in the snow and needing help from a wildlife rehabilitator.
It died on January 19th.
The story led at least one of our viewers to ask: Did the bird stay here and get into trouble because someone was feeding it?
Here to answer that question and explain how the things we do might help or hinder migrating birds is Tia Pinney of Mass Audubon.
NECN videographer Dave Brosemer catches sight of some lovely moose in Greenville, Maine. They must be used to cars and people stopping to look, because they didn’t seem to mind having their pictures taken!
