Whales could be extinct within decades
Posted on 07/02/2008 10:49:43 AM PDT by yankeedame
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:57 PM on 02nd July 2008
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.
The whale population has already fallen dramatically over the past few centuries because to culling by Japan, Norway and Iceland, and the poisoning of oceans which kills off their food.
Whales could be extinct within decades
But now a French scientist has said the majestic mammals - which can reach 80ft in length and weigh the same as a passenger jet - could also suffer from heartbreak.
Paris naturalist Yves Paccalet said: 'It may be that these intelligent animals are so exhausted from their combat with humankind that they have simply have given up the fight.
'And the psychological consequences of our aggression have compromised their will to live.' ....
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Agree. They are highly intelligent as well as dolphins.
Is there any justification at all for taking whales? Do they provide anything for which they are the sole source? I know little, if anything, about whaling but have often wondered why anyone does it anymore.
I have a friend whose parrot died after he got divorced and had to work 2 jobs. The parrot got lonely. Sounds corny, but that’s what the guy said, and, well, he’s Navy and not the type to whine. It never occurred to me that a parrot could be lonely, so I suppose this could be true in some instances.
My guess is that in some cases like the Norweigans, its a way of life and an industry and if they couldn’t whale they would have to find something else. Guess a lot of a dead whale goes into dog food from what I read. Sounds like kind of a waste, no?
Considering how intelligent, beautiful and interesting they really are, I could’t kill one unless my life depended on it - which is most unlikely.
Whale oil makes a renewable, alternative energy source, you know!
You're stealing my tagline. :-)
Translation:
“They seem to be going away faster than they are actually getting farmed, so we will just make some stuff up and blame that on whale harvesting also. We will get some ‘leading expert’ with some sob story quotes so it sounds like science and then call the whole story news.”
I think I heard some government scientist somewhere say this about roaches too.
N U K E the G A Y W H A L E S for C H R I S T
In the old days of whaling, the drive was for whale oil rendered from whale blubber, spermaceti from the oil of sperm whales as a fine machine lubricant, baleen from baleen whales for corsets, and ambergris for perfume and that’s about it.
Don’t know of any big demand for corsets, ambergris or whale oil today.
Sorry about that.
Do you want to invest in my whale ranch? I’m looking for partners.
I agree. Just this past Saturday we were out on our boat and got to visit a few Orca. I think it was “A”-Pod. Mom, dad and a very little one. They were fun to hang out with for a bit.
Well, hey, I don’t know what the greenies are worried about, after all Whales are air breathers and merely contribute to the worlds CO2 problem every time they come up to take a breath, better for them to die and decrease the CO2 content of our atmosphere!/SAR
Historical Tidbit:
The best blackpowder bullet lube (reputedly) is a mixture of sperm whale oil and beeswax. So you had to kill whales before you could decimate the buffalo.
But it was not mere loneliness, but rather mankind's lack of appreciation for Willie the Operatic Whale's vocal abilities that rendered the cetacean despondent.
(Psalm 104)
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both great and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which Thou hast formed to frolic there.
And from Revelation:
Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they were created.
Exactly. I have all the respect in the world for the activists who physically interfere with the Japanese “research” whalers.
Part of the show was the anguishing, agonizing death of a baby blue whale. Only it wasn't killed by man, but by a school of killer whales. I don't see how any of these babies make it past infancy--the killer whales have such a tactical advantage over the slow-moving whale mother, who has no defences. The killer whales harry the pair, exhaust them with chasing, engage in tag-team attacks. You may have seen on TV the way the killer whales treat a hapless seal--playing with him like a cat with a mouse.
Perhaps if the whale had evolved some protections--like having the male of the mating pair stick around--but the superior hunting abilities make the big whale a victim.
I’m glad you posted that. I agree. Leave the whales alone.
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