Eco-Blog: Endangered Whales

Whales are one of the most absolutely amazing species on earth. Besides the lack of both interest or care for them, they hold characteristics that have never been seen in any other animal, and they are the largest mammal the earth has ever seen. Not only do they hold the largest size record, but they have the longest life span with an average of 200 years. You would think that this species would deserve the protection it needs. But even though the whaling industry, which drove this large animal towards extinction, ceased to operate decades ago—It didn't stop before the blue whale’s population had fallen by more than 90 percent. About 1% of the total whales exist today than in the past. These creatures obviously facinate us, and their size must threaten our egos, because it is apparently highly looked upon for a man to kill a whale, and sell their body parts like lifeless objects around the world. To think that many years (many, many years) back, we could have swam fin-to-fin with these creatures, but now have turned our backs and are using them for income is horrid.

Only one population, the East Pacific grey whale, is thought to have recovered to its original abundance, but the closely related West Pacific grey whale population is the most endangered in the world. It hovers on the edge of extinction with just over 100 remaining.
Known environmental threats to whales include global warming, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear. The pollution in the oceans seriously impacts not only whales but all other marine life as well. This not only affects the whales directly, but their generations after, as toxicated milk is fed to their calves and the chemicals are carried through the family. There are many cases where, after review of percentages in a whales body, they are technically considered "toxit waste" because of the amazingly high levels of PBC's and pollutants. These are floating, breathing, feeling waste that we have created from such beautiful creatures. More than half of the whale sub-species are in critical danger.

Whale hunting is a main reason for the whales dwindling numbers, but a few years ago a good solution was started. Whale watching has been a good substitute to whale hunting. In 2000 it attracted some nine million enthusiasts in 87 countries, and generated a record-breaking $1billion in revenue. But this solution, unfortunately is not great. Yes, the whales are living. But tracking, and following whales not only adds stress to them, but there are some companies that allow "swimming with the whales". If timed right, the calves and their mothers rest at the top of the waters, as the calf cannot hold it's breath for long periods of time, therefore making them easy prey for the tourists who wish the get the ultimate experience. These animals are not bothering us, we need to let them live their lives, and rely on photographs or watching from afar.

The WWF report also calls for a number of actions to be taken to protect whales. These measures should include:

· reducing marine pollution, establishing international control over the management of whaling

ending the abuse of scientific whaling and whaling with factory ships on the high seas
maintaining the ban on the international trade in whale meat
and creating more whale sanctuaries and marine protected areas