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How did the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale get its name?

Reddit Animals

People in North America began using the term “right whale” in the early 1700s, and originally “right” may have meant “typical,” as these whales were considered common and ordinary. However, over time, the term evolved to refer to how they were hunted—they were considered “the right whales to hunt.”

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of July 2020)

10,000 Birds

A Saturday morning seawatch netted Corey a Cory’s Shearwater , a nice year bird, but he couldn’t get good enough looks at the two Great Shearwaters that went past for him to count them as a new species for his Queens list.

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Blue Whales Reappearing Again

Critter News

BLUE whales, the world’s largest animals, are reappearing in parts of the oceans where hunting once wiped them out, signalling that they may finally be returning from the brink of extinction. Research also suggests that the Antarctic population of blue whales may now be growing at 6% a year. And here's some good news for today.

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Whales Losing the Will to Live?

Critter News

The steeply declining number of whales in the world's oceans is causing the remaining creatures to suffer loneliness and 'lose the will the live', a leading expert has claimed. The psychological impact of over-hunting on the highly intelligent and sociable animals has been identified as the latest threat to the survival of the species.

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Sad Fate for Rare Whale in Olympia, WA

Critter News

A severely injured whale off the shores of Olympia has little chance of survival, an expert said Thursday. The animal is either a sei or Bryde's whale, said biologist John Calambokidis with Cascadia Research. The Bryde's is a more tropical species not usually seen north of southern California." Both would be extremely rare.

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Whaling Compromises Of Little Use

Critter News

Iceland recently announced a quota of 100 fin whales - an endangered species - which is a dramatic increase its original self-assigned quota of nine. They also almost doubled their quota of Minke whales. ". Tags: norway iceland whale Japan whaling. And they flagrantly continue killing.

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Good News About Blue Whales

Critter News

Looks like blue whales may be coming back to Alaska. From the Associated Press: Blue whales are returning to Alaska in search of food and could be re-establishing an old migration route several decades after they were nearly wiped out by commercial whalers, scientists say. Here's hoping Sarah Palin leaves them alone.

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