The Cook Inlet Beluga Whale population is the lowest it 15 years, down from 653 in 1994 to 321 this year.
One of the theories attempting to explain the decline is noise pollution from Anchorage Port, a busy shipping hub undergoing a lot of new construction. It’s believed that the beluga whales are sensitive to the commercial and construction noise. At four points along the port, hired whale watchers keep their eyes open for belugas, and if any are spotted, construction comes to a halt.
The port construction project won’t be completed until 2014.
The diver’s legs became paralyzed during something called a “free diving contest,” during which competitors had to sink to the bottom of a 20-foot-deep pool that also happened to have some beluga whales in it. The divers were supposed to stay there for as long as possible without breathing equipment.
The whole things seems a bit fishy to me…
And then when it was over, they ate the whale in gratitude.
A study published this month’s issue of Nature Reviews Cancer asserts that cancer threatens the survival of some species, including beluga whales in the North American St. Lawrence River system. These whales have a high rate of intestinal and breast cancer, due to pollutants in their habitat.
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