Aquatic Adventures Humpback Whale Encounter

Put yourself in the water with Aquatic Adventures off the coast of the Dominican Republic at the Silver Bank and come face to face with the giants of the sea, humpback whales.
Live aboard a 124 foot yacht for a week on the high sea and come back with memories that last a lifetime. LINK: Youtube

River Whale Garden

The ‘whale’ is actually a project from Vincent Callebaut Architects called Physalia Physalis or ‘Water Bubble’, and it has a very serious point. One billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water. This vessel is designed to float up and down the rivers of Europe, purifying the water as it goes. It is of course a huge floating garden among other things, with interior gardens dedicated to Earth, Water, Wind and Fire. So in theory it would make the Thames drinkable. It is also apparently completely self-sufficient, being covered in solar panels. In fact, it is meant to produce more energy than it uses. Too bad it is only a concept for now.

Link – Via: babycreativeblog, Via: Neatorama

Raw Video: Beluga Whale Calf Born at Aquarium

A beluga whale at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium gives birth to a calf. Shortly after the birth, the calf took a breath and began swimming with his mother. The calf was born head first, rare among belugas who are normally born tail first. (Dec. 15). LINK: Youtube

The Seaglider, Hunting

This microphoned submarine glider has been collecting ocean sounds for a few weeks. When it is plucked from the sea in a few more, researchers will use software to parse its audiofiles for rare beaked whale songs. [Wired], Via: Gizmodo

Stealthy anti-whaling powerboat

That is not Batman's boat but rather Earthrace, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ultraslick bio-diesel-powered anti-whaling speedboat. It's 80-feet long and very stealthy. Next month, it will head out to the seas around Japan to, er, protest the country's whaling industry. Life magazine has photos of Earthrace currently docked in Auckland, New Zealand. (Click image to see full photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images.) "Superbad Anti-Whaling Stealth Boat". LINK: Boingboing

Largest. Animal. Ever.

The largest known animal in our Earth's history is the size of a basketball court and weighs as much a 8 DC-9 airplanes.

This article attempts to put some astonishing facts about this creature into perspective.

The Blue Whale’s tongue weighs around 2.7 metric tons (5,952 pounds) about the size of an average Asian Elephant.

Its mouth is large enough to hold up to 90 metric tons (198,400 pounds) of food and water which is equivalent to 420,560 Big Macs

Its heart weighs 600 kg (1,300 lb) and is the largest known in any animal.



Link, Via: Neatorama , Via: Youtube

Gigantic Aquarium Tank Holds Four - FOUR! - Whale Sharks

The Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan, has a fish tank so big that it’s called the Kuroshio Sea. The gigantic tank is 10 m (33 ft) deep, 35 m (115 ft) wide and 27 m (89 ft) long and holds the equivalent of 3 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water.

The tank is so large that not one, but four whale sharks live in it. The Daily Mail has more gorgeous photos of the aquarium exhibit: Link, Via: Neatorama

First Time In World History, Killer Whales Filmed Hunting Dolphins

A tour operator in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, along with four lucky tourists, have made the first recording of a a group of Orca whales hunting a dolphin.

Ranier Schimpf was leading a group of divers when they noticed that one dolphin had been separated from a pod by five of the killer whales then repeatedly rammed. The dolphin was sent flying through the air by the force of impact from whales that were several times its size. With the smaller creature finally left laying unconscious on the surface, the whales pulled it below.

The two 7m male, two 5m female, and a 3m calf whales were clearly working as a team against the dolphin, and it appeared it was also a hunting lesson for the calf.



LINK, Via: Youtube