There is still so much beauty and wonder left in our vast (but severely threatened) oceans. But I would never have thought a species of whale could have evaded detection.
Apparently it had:
Ensenada, BCN, Mexico – Dec. 8, 2020 – Researchers working with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society believe that they have discovered a previously unknown species of whale off the western coast of Mexico.
On the morning of November 17, scientists on board Sea Shepherd vessel Martin Sheen observed three beaked whales surfacing in nearby waters. The sightings occurred 100 miles north of Mexico’s San Benito Islands, a group of three remote islands located approximately 300 miles from the US border.
The expedition, led by renowned beaked whale researchers Dr. Gustavo Cárdenas Hinojosa from the Marine Mammal Research Group of CONANP, Dr. Jay Barlow, and Dr. Elizabeth Henderson, Leader of the Whale Acoustic Reconnaissance Program of NIWC PAC in collaboration with Sea Shepherd’s Scientific Department, aimed to study the cetaceans present in the waters surrounding the San Benito Islands. The team set forth to identify a beaked whale species associated with an unidentified acoustic signal previously recorded in the area.
I’m sure this will need to be verified by additional science, but wow. Sea Shepherd is an organization we have donated to for years because of their radical and sustained commitment to conservation of our threatened oceans. I was shocked to see them as the source of this discovery while checking CNN.
www.cnn.com/…
Something amazing to close out 2020.
Support this organization if you feel so inclined:
seashepherd.org