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Animals & Wildlife

The oldest whales on the planet are more ancient than 'Moby-Dick' and have the harpoons to prove it

Wow... just wow.

Image from Pixabay.

Under the sea...

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You're probably familiar with the literary classic "Moby-Dick." But in case you're not, here's the gist: Moby Dick is the name of a huge albino sperm whale. (Get your mind outta the gutter.)

There's this dude named Captain Ahab who really really hates the whale, and he goes absolutely bonkers in his quest to hunt and kill it, and then everything is awful and we all die unsatisfied with our shared sad existence and — oops, spoilers!

OK, technically, the narrator Ishmael survives. So it's actually a happy ending (kind of)!

whales, Moby Dick, poaching endangered species

Illustration from an early edition of Moby-Dick

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Basically, it's a famous book about revenge and obsession that was published back in 1851, and it's really, really long.

It's chock-full of beautiful passages and dense symbolism and deep thematic resonance and all those good things that earned it a top spot in the musty canon of important literature.

There's also a lot of mundane descriptions about the whaling trade as well (like, a lot). That's because it came out back when commercial whaling was still a thing we did.

A non-albino mother and baby sperm whale.

Photo by Gabriel Barathieu/Wikipedia.

In fact, humans used to hunt more than 50,000 whales each year to use for oil, meat, baleen, and oil. (Yes, I wrote oil twice.) Then, in 1946, the International Whaling Commission stepped in and said "Hey, wait a minute, guys. There's only a few handful of these majestic creatures left in the entire world, so maybe we should try to not kill them anymore?"

And even then, commercial whaling was still legal in some parts of the world until as recently as 1986.

International Whaling Commission, harpoons

Tail in the water.

Whale's tail pale ale GIF via GoPro/YouTube

And yet by some miracle, there are whales who were born before "Moby-Dick" was published that are still alive today.

What are the odds of that? Honestly it's hard to calculate since we can't exactly swim up to a bowhead and say, "Hey, how old are you?" and expect a response. (Also that's a rude question — jeez.)

Thanks to some thoughtful collaboration between researchers and traditional Inupiat whalers (who are still allowed to hunt for survival), scientists have used amino acids in the eyes of whales and harpoon fragments lodged in their carcasses to determine the age of these enormous animals — and they found at least three bowhead whales who were living prior to 1850.

Granted those are bowheads, not sperm whales like the fictional Moby Dick, (and none of them are albino, I think), but still. Pretty amazing, huh?

This bowhead is presumably in adolescence, given its apparent underwater moping.

GIF via National Geographic.

This is a particularly remarkable feat considering that the entire species was dwindling near extinction.

Barring these few centenarian leviathans, most of the whales still kickin' it today are between 20 and 70 years old. That's because most whale populations were reduced to 10% or less of their numbers between the 18th and 20th centuries, thanks to a few over-eager hunters (and by a few, I mean all of them).

Today, sperm whales are considered one of the most populous species of massive marine mammals; bowheads, on the other hand, are still in trouble, despite a 20% increase in population since the mid-1980s. Makes those few elderly bowheads that much more impressive, huh?

population, Arctic, Great Australian Blight

Southern Right Whales hangin' with a paddleboarder in the Great Australian Bight.

GIF via Jaimen Hudson.

Unfortunately, just as things are looking up, these wonderful whales are in trouble once again.

We might not need to worry our real-life Captain Ahabs anymore, but our big aquatic buddies are still being threatened by industrialization — namely, from oil drilling in the Arctic and the Great Australian Bight.

In the off-chance that companies like Shell and BP manage not to spill millions of gallons of harmful crude oil into the water, the act of drilling alone is likely to maim or kill millions of animals, and the supposedly-safer sonic blasting will blow out their eardrums or worse.

This influx of industrialization also affects their migratory patterns — threatening not only the humans who depend on them, but also the entire marine ecosystem.

And I mean, c'mon — who would want to hurt this adorable face?

social responsibility, nature, extinction

BOOP.

Image from Pixabay.

Whales might be large and long-living. But they still need our help to survive.

If you want another whale to make it to his two-hundred-and-eleventy-first birthday (which you should because I hear they throw great parties), then sign this petition to protect the waters from Big Oil and other industrial threats.

I guarantee Moby Dick will appreciate it.

This article originally appeared ten years ago.

From Your Site Articles

Nature

Over 200 new animal species have been discovered, and some have pretty interesting names

Instagram, Wikipedia

Images from Instagram and Wikipedia

It’s true that much of our wildlife is in danger. Like, an alarmingly large amount. In 2021 alone, 22 species were declared extinct in the United States.

And globally, Earth is facing what scientists refer to as its “sixth mass extinction,” primarily thanks to human activity. You know, deforestation, climate change, overconsumption, overpopulation, industrial farming, poaching … the usual suspects.

It sounds like dystopian science fiction, but sadly, it’s the reality we are currently living in.

But today, there is a silver lining. Because the World Wildlife Fund recently reported 224 completely new species.

From a snake who channels David Bowie to a monkey with ivory spectacles, there are a lot of newly discovered creatures here to offer a bit of hope to otherwise bleak statistics.

a map of the Mekong region

upload.wikimedia.org

WWF’s report, released on Jan. 19, covered the rich, biodiverse habitats of the Greater Mekong region, which includes China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Myanmar.

Mekong is home to many species both strange and peculiar. Among the 163 species reported in 2016 were the rainbow-headed snake of Laos, noted for its similarity to Ziggy Stardust, and a Klingon newt, pleasing Star Trek fans everywhere … including me.

See on Instagram

Mekong is also where you might find the extremely rare saola, otherwise known as the Asian unicorn (oddly enough, it doesn’t only have one horn).

And let’s not forget the dementor wasp, a vicious insect named after the soul-sucking specters in “Harry Potter.” These gnarly creatures inject a paralyzing venom into their prey before gobbling them up alive.

If that’s not nightmare fuel, I don’t know what is.

See on Instagram

The latest list includes a monkey with ghostly white circles around its eyes, dubbed the Popa langur, named after Myanmar’s once active Mt. Popa volcano.

The Popa langur also carries the title of “Only New Mammal Discovered.” It’s a bit of a mouthful, but still noteworthy.

upload.wikimedia.org

In addition, there's the bright orange twin slug snake, which consumes, you guessed it, slugs. You are what you eat, after all.

Plus a new ginger plant called the stink bug for its pungent odor, which wasn’t found in a jungle at all, but rather at a plant shop in northeastern Thailand.

Though these findings are extraordinary, K. Yoganand, regional lead of wildlife and wildlife crime for WWF-Greater Mekong, told Reuters that these plants and animals still face “intense threat,” saying that “many species [will be] going extinct even before they are described.”

The Popa langur, for instance, is already a candidate for extinction, as only 200-250 are estimated to survive in the wild, CBS reported.

That is a sobering reminder. But luckily there are ways our species can help.

On its website, WWF offers two options. Under the “Action Center,” you’ll find different ways you can actively join in on particular campaigns, like repealing oil and gas programs in the arctic.

Alternatively, under the “adopt an animal” section, you’ll find gift and apparel items available for purchase, where proceeds go toward helping those animals facing the threat of extinction. I’m personally eyeing the adorable plush black jaguar.

These amazing creatures provide so much beauty, awe and wonder to the planet. No action toward their preservation is too small.

From Your Site Articles

He had to operate to save an orangutan's life. The catch? He'd never done it before.

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When Daniel the orangutan arrived at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona, he was in rough shape.

He was suffering from a respiratory disease, which, just like in humans, can worsen and even lead to death when untreated.

The stakes were high, especially considering that orangutans are a highly endangered species. And respiratory illnesses can be even more dangerous for orangutans which have an inflatable air sac that can be vulnerable when it becomes infected.Located in their throats, these air sacs are helpful in allowing orangutans to sustain the loud calls they're known for by creating a chamber for the sound to resonate within, but these air sacs are also prone to infection.

Dr. Gary West, executive vice president of animal health and collections at the Phoenix Zoo, was hopeful that cleaning the site of the infection would be enough for Daniel. But it wasn't.

The infection returned, and West quickly realized Daniel would need a sinus surgery if he had any shot at recovering. But that surgery required expertise that West didn't have. So they called in Dr. David Simms, an ENT specialist with Dignity Health, to perform the surgery.

There was just one problem: Simms had never operated on an orangutan before.

Humans and orangutans are pretty similar, but they're obviously not the same. This didn't intimidate Simms, though, who was excited to apply what he knew about humans to a different species. When Simms saw how badly Daniel needed the procedure, he was even more determined.

"I knew that I could help him," he explains. "I really didn't think twice."

Simms was relieved that Dignity Health, a health provider based in San Francisco, encouraged him to do the procedure and helped to plan it even though Daniel wasn't a human patient.With the right team behind him, Simms was confident he could perform the surgery.

Simms got to work. He started by studying up on orangutan anatomy before surgery.

He took CT scans so he could take a close look at the differences between a human's sinuses and an orangutan's. He even had a 3D replica of Daniel's skull printed to practice on before the actual surgery.

Being able to practice ahead of time was especially important because Daniel was already at a higher risk for complications because of the underlying air sac infection.

Luckily for Daniel, all the work paid off. The surgery went off without a hitch.

Almost immediately afterward, it was clear it'd been a success. Daniel's eyes were brighter, and his appetite was bigger.

"He wanted to eat everything in sight," says Mary Yoder, primate manager at the Phoenix Zoo. "He was back to his old self."

Daniel was doing extraordinarily well after the surgery, and his recovery offers hope for other primates who face the same challenges.

Many orangutans like Daniel deal with respiratory disease. Because they are on the brink of extinction, surgeries like these can make or break the survival of an entire species. When experts like Simms step in, they're not saving only a single orangutan — they're helping in conservation efforts to ensure orangutans survive well into the future.

Simms is hopeful this surgery will offer a model on which future surgeries can be based, helping all sorts of primates live longer, happier lives.

As for Daniel, the Phoenix Zoo hopes he'll find a mate, have a family, and enjoy a long life ahead of him, free of the disease that once held him back.

Heroes

Mexico's president reacts to pressure from Leonardo DiCaprio to save a species.

On May 10, 2017, actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio took to Twitter to save a marine species.

"The vaquita is the most endangered marine mammal in the world," he wrote of the species, which can only be found off Mexico's shores in the Gulf of California. "Join me [and the World Wildlife Fund] and take action."

It may seem like an average tweet, coming from one of the biggest environmental advocates in the world. But the tweet has had global ramifications.

Photo by National Geographic Channel, courtesy of the Everett Collection.

As DiCaprio noted in a Facebook post that same day, unsustainable fishing has caused a steep decline in the total number of vaquitas.

There may only be 30 left in the gulf right now — a 90% drop since 2011 — which also explains why there seem to be so few photos of the rare porpoise in the wild.

A rare photo of a vaquita. Photo by World Wildlife Fund.

One major reason for the falling numbers is China's hunger for the totoaba fish, which also only lives in the Gulf of California. Mexican fishermen use massive gill nets to catch the totoaba and ship the marine animals to China — an illegal practice in itself. But all too often, vaquitas get caught in these nets and are needlessly killed.

This doesn't just affect the vaquita either. Illegal fishing is harming many other marine species in the region, too — species that local communities rely on for food and business.

DiCaprio linked to a petition by the World Wildlife Fund calling on Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to act now to save the species in his Facebook post and tweet.

Among other demands, the letter urges the president to implement and enforce a permanent gill net fishing ban.

Photo by Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images.

To Nieto's credit, his government has taken some steps to save the vaquita.

In 2015, Mexico implemented a two-year gill net fishing ban. But it wasn't properly enforced, advocates argued, which helps to explain why vaquita numbers continued to dwindle. What's more, what little effect the ban did have on dissuading fisherman is now gone entirely because the ban expired in April 2017.

DiCaprio's posts did actually catch the attention of the Mexican president, who responded on Twitter.

— (@)

In a series of tweets, Nieto explained how his government has upped efforts to save the vaquita in recent years, such as expanding its protection zone in the gulf and committing 300 marines and 15 boats to monitor the area.

Still, DiCaprio's call to act seemed to spark new urgency from the Mexican president, who made a very public commitment to ensure the vaquita won't be lost forever.

— (@)

Not everyone has over 17 million Twitter followers like DiCaprio, but we all have a voice.

Use it to tweet your support for the Word Wildlife Fund's petition and put more pressure on Nieto and Mexico to save the vaquita.

From Your Site Articles

It’s save the vaquita week. What you should know about the world’s most adorable and endangered porpoise. - Upworthy ›

One of the most endangered birds on the planet just had a huge bounce back.

The kakapo parrot is one of the most endangered species in the world.

There are currently fewer than 200 of the flightless birds from New Zealand on the planet. That's a big problem, especially when you consider that (surprise, surprise) human beings are largely responsible for their dwindling population.

A kakapo parrot. Photo via Dianne Mason/Department of Conservation/Flickr.

Hundreds of years ago, humans hunted them for their skin and feathers. In the 1800s, land clearance and the introduction of mammalian predators (like dogs) in New Zealand further reduced their ability to survive.

Photo via Chris Birmingham/Department of Conservation/Flickr.

For decades, scientists have exhausted their options trying to bring the kakapo population back from the brink. They've tried everything.

Photo via Department of Conservation/Flickr.

And when I say everything, I mean everything. Including a "sperm helmet" that scientists wore on their heads to collect semen samples after they noticed the kakapos would routinely try to mate with people's heads.

Photo by Neil Sandas/AFP/Getty Images.

Needless to say, it didn't work.

In 2016, though, things are actually looking up for the little birds, as an incredible 33 kakapo chicks were recently born in New Zealand.

Incredibly, the kakapos made it happen all on their own, no sperm helmets needed. Thanks to the conservation efforts of the last several decades, the birds just had a very successful mating season.

Photo via Mike Bodie/Department of Conservation/Flickr.

They look as terrifying, as baby birds usually do (is it just me?), but their birth represents a huge win for conservation efforts that have been going on since at least 1891.

A conservation scientist who is NOT Bernie Sanders. Photo via Don Merton/Department of Conservation/Flickr.

Protecting endangered species is important for many reasons.

Like biodiversity, balancing ecosystems, and even climate change. It isn't always easy, and it doesn't always work — hell, just think of the poor guy who had to test out the ill-fated sperm helmet.

When it works out though, it's a big win for the world.

Photo via Alastair Morrison/Department of Conservation/Flickr.

From Your Site Articles

Group of endangered California condors wreak total havoc on a woman's porch - Upworthy ›

Conservationists in Africa came up with a genius way to save elephants: move them.

Human beings haven't always been the best of friends to elephants.

Photo by Brian Snelson/Flickr.

While we've written some of our most delightful children's books about them...

We've done OK by Babar. Photo by Jean de Brunhoff/Wikimedia Commons.

...we've also poached them for centuries, destroyed their habitats, and generally been pretty bad at sharing our planet with them.

Illegal ivory sits in a storeroom in Kenya. Photo by Carl de Souza/Getty Images.

Recently, conservationists in Malawi decided to tranquilize 500 elephants, pick them up by their hind legs, and drive them almost 200 miles across bumpy savannah on the back of a truck. And while it might look like yet another attempt to mess with these gentle creatures...

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP.

...it actually might be the nicest thing we've done for elephants in quite some time.

While the task was anything but nice, the goal was simple: to relocate the animals from two Malawi national parks where they're (relatively) plentiful to a park with more room and, thereby, more safety for the elephants.

"This is very much the way that we'll have to manage things in the future," Craig Reid, manager of the country's Liwonde National Park, told The Associated Press.

According to the AP, who embedded with the team, the project is one of the largest-ever and most logistically complicated relocations of its kind.

Similar moves have been made before, but few have been attempted with so many animals.

Moving the elephants required enlisting a fleet of helicopters, cranes, and trucks as well as a team of dedicated pilots, drivers, and conservationists to manage the creatures as they made their way across the country.

It's the latest attempt to give these giant, emotionally complex animals a chance to recover.

An elephant strides around Kenya. Photo by Tony Karumba/Getty Images.

African elephants — highly social creatures who have been shown to react to each other's pain, soothe suffering friends, and even grieve for their dead — used to number in the millions, but rampant hunting has caused their population decline over decades — by as much as 80% in some areas.

More recently, increases in demand for ivory has led to a surge in poaching, and human encroachment is always a threat.

The World Wildlife Fund estimates their numbers today at approximately 470,000.

Project managers are prioritizing moving the elephants with their families.

An elephant mother with her calf at the London Zoo. Photo by Adrien Dennis/Getty Images.

According to conservationists on the team, keeping mothers and calves together is key to the success of the relocation because elephants, like humans, form tight familial bonds.

Relocating hundreds of the huge creatures is challenging, and there are potential drawbacks.

Some conservationists worry that mass artificial migration could facilitate the spread of disease, and being handled by humans with giant cranes can, understandably, stress out the animals.

But if the end result is more elephants, many experts believe it's a chance worth taking.

Photo by Lucas Schulze/Getty Images.

WWF African species manager Bas Huijbregts told the AP that the relocation project would be "a win-win for elephants and people" and hopes that it "will likely become the new norm in many places in Africa."

The best part? We get to brag about doing the elephants a solid for once.

It may not look like it.

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP.

But one day, they'll totally appreciate us for it.

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP.

Maybe.

A 16-year-old kid caught footage of this rare bird thought to be extinct in the wild.

The Spix's macaw is a pretty dope bird.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

Yes, its face is permanently fixed in one of those "I'm always watching" stares.

You. You know. Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

Yes, it has creepy-looking babies.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

But it's a pretty chill and harmless bird — unless you're a seed or a nut. Spix's macaws mate for life and their courtship rituals can last years. And they're generally majestic as hell.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

The last time someone saw one in the wild was in 2000.

Since then, researchers have assumed that humans did to the species what humans do best: killed off all but the few hundred of them we keep in cages for our amusement.

That is ... until June, when footage of a Spix's macaw mid-flight was taken by a 16-year-old and confirmed by experts soon thereafter.

Birds have been getting the short end of the stick for at least the last 500 years, at least when it comes to extinction rates.

Birds. Photo by Violetta/Pixabay.

According to a BirdLife International analysis, nearly 150 species of birds have gone extinct since 1500, with an estimated 22 of those extinctions occurring in the last 50 years.

Which makes the discovery of a wild Spix's macaw a rare spot of good news for the larger avian-verse. Researchers hope that observing the bird in its natural habitat will give them insight into how to revive the already seriously endangered species.

Needless to say, scientists are super psyched to have seen one in the wild, and so are members of the local community, for whom the Spix's macaw is a major source of pride.

Pedro Devely, CEO of SAVE Brazil, a conservation group, explained why the bird's reappearance is especially meaningful to residents of Curaca, Brazil — where the footage was taken — in an interview with NPR:

"The Spix's Macaw is kind of a symbol of the city, and the local community is really proud of the existence of the Spix's Macaw there. And when the Spix's Macaw disappeared in 2000, it was kind of traumatic for them. Because they lost the symbol of the city, something really unique. And since then there has been a big expectation for the return of the Spix's Macaw. They are really waiting for that."

We've thrown a lot at this little bird.

Deforestation, habitat destruction, and forced captivity ain't nothing to sneeze at.

Yet, miraculously, despite all that, Dr. Ian Malcolm's famous adage still holds true:

GIF from "Jurassic Park."

At least for one lucky parrot species.

Fly, Spix's macaw. Fly!

Image via BirdLife International/YouTube.

Fly free and never look back!

From Your Site Articles

Incredible up-close bird photos - Upworthy ›

We have a small favor to ask of you

extinction

Wow... just wow.

Basically, it's a famous book about revenge and obsession that was published back in 1851, and it's really, really long.

And yet by some miracle, there are whales who were born before "Moby-Dick" was published that are still alive today.

This is a particularly remarkable feat considering that the entire species was dwindling near extinction.

Unfortunately, just as things are looking up, these wonderful whales are in trouble once again.

Whales might be large and long-living. But they still need our help to survive.

When Daniel the orangutan arrived at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona, he was in rough shape.

There was just one problem: Simms had never operated on an orangutan before.

Simms got to work. He started by studying up on orangutan anatomy before surgery.

Daniel was doing extraordinarily well after the surgery, and his recovery offers hope for other primates who face the same challenges.

On May 10, 2017, actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio took to Twitter to save a marine species.

As DiCaprio noted in a Facebook post that same day, unsustainable fishing has caused a steep decline in the total number of vaquitas.

DiCaprio linked to a petition by the World Wildlife Fund calling on Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to act now to save the species in his Facebook post and tweet.

DiCaprio's posts did actually catch the attention of the Mexican president, who responded on Twitter.

Not everyone has over 17 million Twitter followers like DiCaprio, but we all have a voice.

The kakapo parrot is one of the most endangered species in the world.

For decades, scientists have exhausted their options trying to bring the kakapo population back from the brink. They've tried everything.

In 2016, though, things are actually looking up for the little birds, as an incredible 33 kakapo chicks were recently born in New Zealand.

Protecting endangered species is important for many reasons.

When it works out though, it's a big win for the world.

Human beings haven't always been the best of friends to elephants.

While we've written some of our most delightful children's books about them...

...we've also poached them for centuries, destroyed their habitats, and generally been pretty bad at sharing our planet with them.

Recently, conservationists in Malawi decided to tranquilize 500 elephants, pick them up by their hind legs, and drive them almost 200 miles across bumpy savannah on the back of a truck. And while it might look like yet another attempt to mess with these gentle creatures...

...it actually might be the nicest thing we've done for elephants in quite some time.

According to the AP, who embedded with the team, the project is one of the largest-ever and most logistically complicated relocations of its kind.

It's the latest attempt to give these giant, emotionally complex animals a chance to recover.

Project managers are prioritizing moving the elephants with their families.

Relocating hundreds of the huge creatures is challenging, and there are potential drawbacks.

But if the end result is more elephants, many experts believe it's a chance worth taking.

The best part? We get to brag about doing the elephants a solid for once.

The Spix's macaw is a pretty dope bird.

Yes, its face is permanently fixed in one of those "I'm always watching" stares.

Yes, it has creepy-looking babies.

But it's a pretty chill and harmless bird — unless you're a seed or a nut. Spix's macaws mate for life and their courtship rituals can last years. And they're generally majestic as hell.

The last time someone saw one in the wild was in 2000.

That is ... until June, when footage of a Spix's macaw mid-flight was taken by a 16-year-old and confirmed by experts soon thereafter.

Birds have been getting the short end of the stick for at least the last 500 years, at least when it comes to extinction rates.

Needless to say, scientists are super psyched to have seen one in the wild, and so are members of the local community, for whom the Spix's macaw is a major source of pride.

We've thrown a lot at this little bird.

Fly, Spix's macaw. Fly!