Whales and Wiener Dogs

A small population of false killer whales that live near Hawaii might be added to the endangered species list by the U.S. Government. False killer whales look like killer whales, but they are actually black dolphins that grow can grow to 16 feet and weigh more than a ton.

Proponents of the listing believe that the local fishing industry deplete food stocks while accidentally capturing the false killer whales.

David Place, an antiques dealer from Nantucket, has been charged with illegal importing and trafficking of sperm whale teeth. If convicted, he could get up to five years in the slammer and could be forced to pay up to $250,000 in fines.

According to this article in the Village Voice, it’s not illegal to import sperm whale teeth, you just need to obtain the right permits. It goes to say that most of the illegal sperm whale teeth come from the Ukraine, where whaling is “legal.” This is actually the first time I’ve heard the Ukraine and whaling mentioned in the same sentence. Last year a former whaling museum director from Hawaii was arrested for whale teeth trafficking, and so was a Ukrainian scrimshander whose work has been commissioned by both Bush presidents.

Scrimshaw is the art of etching and/or carving designs into whale teeth or bone. The piece at the top of this post is a picture of a “Susan’s Tooth,” i.e., a piece done by Frederick Myrick on the whaleship Susan out of Nantucket in 1828. Myrick’s work is famous for his attention to the detail of his voyage. He is also credited with the rhyme, “Death to the living, long life to the killers, Success to sailors’ wives & greasy luck to whalers.”

An amateur with a handy cam has captured at least five male humpback whales engaging in “competitive group behavior” to impress a nearby female, in this case nearly pressing themselves up against the portholes of a submersible out of Lahaina, Maui.

The video is sort of annoying, but there are good parts throughout.

More news from the world of whales (4/14/09):

• Digital Free Sample of Marvel Illustrated Moby Dick (Marvel)
• The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary has opened its $6.5 million beachfront learning center in Kihei, Maui. (Honolulu Advertiser)
• Here’s an antique whale steak recipe from 1927 (Geeks)
• Shop the Buffalo Exchange Dollar Day Sale and help save whales (Examiner.com)

More news from the world of whales:

• All that footage the Australian Feds took from the Steve Irwin is safely back in the hands of Animal Planet…new season of Whale Wars premieres June 5 (PR Newswire)
• Here’s some footage of an underwater videographer getting hit in the head by a whale tail (Dive Photo Guide).
• If you can interpret the cartoon above, go here and be the first to figure it out (Toon Pool)
• Off all the things that are out there killing whales, rat poison isn’t one of them (KHON)
• Rachel McAdams has read a lot of books, but Moby Dick isn’t one of them (Oprah.com)

A recent paper published by the Royal Society journal Biology Letters asserts that dolphins can suffer temporary hearing loss from naval sonar. Experiments at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution at the University of Hawaii showed that man-made sonar could induce temporary deafness in dolphins, but that it would take prolonged exposure to cause permanent hearing loss and changes in behavior. Scientists believe that this is the kind of exposure caused by military operations and that the exposure is directly related to beachings.

Alan Knight, Chairman of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said the paper added to evidence suggesting dolphin strandings are caused by sonar.

He blamed a mass stranding of dolphins in Falmouth last year on military activity in the area.

He said: “If sonar can make dolphins even temporarily deaf it shows how loud it is - imagine the level of noise you would need to make you deaf? So, it is that loud then the animals will be frightened and try to get away from the noise which is causing the stranding.”

Nice, informative post here on the Hawaiian saga of the Superferry Alakai. Hawaii’s supreme court recently ruled that operators would have to file an environmental impact statement before the resumption of sailing, a requirement that could doom the service.

Why? Because this thing is apparently not very “green.” In fact, this post would have you believe it’s the opposite of green…whatever that is…black? Brown, maybe? Probably brown. Or black.

• 5 stories tall, 1.5 football fields wide
• The ferry’s route sliced two 14 foot troughs through humpback whale breeding grounds. And there are dolphins, sea turtles, and seals there too.
• It could potentially carry “invasive pests” to pristine island ecosystems along the way
• With a 56,800-gallon fuel tank, environmentalists say the ship burns 15 times the fuel that a jet plane would need to fly the same distance.

And there’s some good ol’ sleazy Republican and patronage politics thrown in for good measure.

• “Ferry opponents were outraged when the Hawaiian Superferry Corp. received a $140 million federal loan guarantee without having to provide an environmental impact statement. When Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that an environmental impact statement was required, Republican Gov. Linda Lingle intervened to circumvent the ruling.”
• “When the Alakai made its first trip to Kauai on Aug. 26, 2007, some 1,500 protesters flocked to Nawiliwili Harbor. About three dozen surfers plunged into the water and paddled their boards into the path of the approaching ferry. They brought it to a halt. Lingle announced she was prepared to use Department of Homeland Security funds to create a security zone around the harbor and to treat protesters as terrorists, subject to $10,000 fines and imprisonment.”
• “While most ferries are state-owned, the Alakai is owned by a New York Pentagon contractor. HSC’s board chairman is former Navy Secretary James Lehman and HSC’s CEO is retired Admiral William Fargo, former chief of military operations in the Pacific.”

More news from the world of whales:

• American Samoa in mid-Pacific found to harbor a dozen kinds of toothed whales (Dook)
• Groups sue feds, alleging it’s failing to protect false killer whales from longline fishing (Seattle Times)
• Here’s some video of Killer Whales doing what they do best…killing shit (BBC<< way NOT to have an embed-able player, BBC)

More news from the world of whales:

• “Moderates Harpooned and Sinking At IWC Meeting in Rome” (Sea Shepherd)
• There’s a Gray Whale in San Diego bay and I bet KUSI is on it with LIVE TEAM COVERAGE (KUSI)
• If you’re in Hawaii, Dr. Quincy Gibson is giving a free talk on cetacean social behavior (Honolulu Advertiser)