Whales are awe-inspiring giants of the sea.

Blue and fin whales are among Earth’s largest animals. Some whales, including humpbacks and minkes, sing haunting songs. They deserve to flourish again in safe, unpolluted oceans. Some species of whales evolved from sharp-toothed carnivores into behemoths who strain their diet of tiny plankton from the sea, using specialized plates called baleen.

wild humpback whales in marine life habitat
David Olsen
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Alamy Stock Photo
Save the whales!

Two centuries of intense hunting decimated whale populations until 1982 when public outcry led to a cessation of killing by most nations. Even after the moratorium, Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to hunt whales, despite few markets for their oil, blubber and meat. Ship strikes, entanglements in fishing gear and pollution hurt the recoveries of these slow-to-reproduce mammals.

Japanese whaling ship catches a whale in the Southern Ocean.
Japanese whaling ship catches a whale in the Southern Ocean.
Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert
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Alamy Stock Photo
Did you know?

Humpback songs vary across regions of the sea and different whale “cultures.” Scientists researching their role in communication theorize the songs may enable males to attract mates.

dolphins performing unnaturally in captivity

SeaWorld plans to end the breeding of killer whales at its facilities and will not have orcas in any new parks opened around the world. Help spread this momentous change to other aquatic parks by not attending dolphin, whale or other marine mammal shows.

kvkirillov / iStock.com