Earth Times: Dead sperm whale found in Gulf of Mexico

[Bluebear]

Washington - A dead sperm whale has been found floating south of the ruptured well that is spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, US scientists said late Wednesday.

It was the first dead sperm whale to be found since the April 20 Deepwater Horizons explosion that caused the worst oil spill in US history.

The animal was found some 125 kilometres south of the well, in an area that has not been sullied by oil, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could not rule out whether its death was oil related.

The whale may have been dead for several days or more even more than a week and likely drifted to where it was discovered...

Sperm whales are the only endangered marine mammals in the upper Gulf of Mexico and NOAA scientists have been worried about the effects of oil and dispersants being used to break up the oil on the animals.


http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/329578,whale-found-gulf-mexico.html

[Cetacea]

1. This small sub-species is genetically and vocally distinct from others

I'm afraid this will wipe them out.

[cwydro]

2. k and r

we will never see all the corpses.

Thanks to Obama and BP who are spraying the dispersant to hide all the bodies.

Fuck this shit.

[amborin]

5. the dispersant so compounds the devastation!

why oh why is BP still allowed to use it?

[cwydro]

11. Because OBPama allows them to.

Our government is freaking out about this disaster and trying desperately to cover it up as well as BP.

The truth will be there for all of us to see soon enough.

[amborin]

12. yes, the main purpose of the dispersants is to coverup and deceive

these people are so evil, and our government colludes

[cwydro]

13. Yes.

I would have believed of the Cheny administration...but could never have imagined what is happening now.

I wonder if Cheney is giving Obama advice...

[myrna minx]

3. .

:cry:

[Cetacea]

4. That he/she was even found is also not a good sign for the shark population

One week or longer is a long time...

[Maru Kitteh]

7. thank you so much for recognizing that victim as an individual (he/she) and not "it"

as well as your astute observation about why it is so disconcerting that his or her body remains.

[Cetacea]

14. .

You are welcome. Thank YOU.

[leftstreet]

6. So sad

:cry:

[G_j]

8. of course

it's only just begun


on edit: I'm sorry to be so full of negativity, but this is the most extreme ecocide. It's no doubt worse than anyone can get their brains around.

[cwydro]

9. kick

I hope people keep posting about this disaster.

There are many with their heads in the sand...Obama being one of them.

[Mojorabbit]

10. I have been dreading this

I think I read they can lose no more than three to stay viable. I am in tears literally now.

[Cetacea]

15. Lest we forget:

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1127-whale.html

Whales share brain cells with humans according to a new study published online November 27, 2006 in The Anatomical Record, the official journal of the American Association of Anatomists. The research suggests that "certain cetaceans and hominids may have evolved side by side."

Examining brains from various cetaceans, the group of marine mammals that includes whales and dolphins, Patrick R. Hof and Estel Van der Gucht of the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY found substantial variability between the cell structure of the cortex in humpback whales compared to toothed whales like dolphins. The authors say that "these differences may indicate differences in brain function and behavior in aquatic species that are not yet understood," according to a news release from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

"In spite of the relative scarcity of information on many cetacean species, it is important to note in this context that sperm whales, killer whales, and certainly humpback whales, exhibit complex social patterns that included intricate communication skills, coalition-formation, cooperation, cultural transmission and tool usage," the authors state. "It is thus likely that some of these abilities are related to comparable histologic complexity in brain organization in cetaceans and in hominids."

[Bluebear]

16. :(