Caribbean Whale Friends's Blog (4)

The great whales were most threatened during the period of commercial whaling, which ended for some species only as recently as 1986, but these animals and their smaller cetacean relatives, the dolphins and porpoises, are subject to a number of other environmental and anthropogenic threats. These include: deliberate hunting and capture, indirect catches and mortality caused by interactions with fishing and other vessels, chemical pollution, and climate change. History of Whale Stocks and Whalin… Continue

The undersea topography of the Caribbean includes islands, offshore banks, estuaries, steep drop-offs and deep water basins. Coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps constitute the coastal ecosystems. This diversity of conditions and habitats provides feeding and calving grounds for thirty species of cetaceans at some point in their life cycle. Some species, particularly dolphins and the larger odontocetes (toothed whales) are probably resident in the Caribbean throughout the year; others,… Continue

With complex social behaviors and groups, dramatic surface activity and a variety of underwater sounds, cetaceans are a very appealing and entertaining group of marine animals. Baleen whales are often spotted as solitary individuals, in mother-calf pairs, or in competitive groupings where males compete for a female. Where there is abundant food, large groups may also be seen feeding. Odontocetes are more likely to have larger, longer-lasting social associations. “Pods” are groups of mixed age an… Continue

Whales, dolphins and porpoises make up a group of marine mammals known as cetaceans. Fossil evidence and the anatomy of contemporary cetaceans suggest that they are derived from the artiodactylids (a group including modern-day cattle and sheep) that adapted to life underwater. Like all mammals, cetaceans have a constant body temperature, have retained the need to breathe air, and they nurse their young with milk. Adaptations include the modification of forelimbs into flippers, the loss of hindli… Continue