I was treated to a whale fluke appearance when I went whale watching and I was impressed, despite being surrounded by 14 vomiting students.... but imagine seeing this out there!
WOW
|
|
|---|
Showing posts with label whales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whales. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Now that's what I call Whale Watching!
Now that's what I call Whale Watching!
I was treated to a whale fluke appearance when I went whale watching and I was impressed, despite being surrounded by 14 vomiting students.... but imagine seeing this out there!
WOW
Friday, November 27, 2009
Killer whales: Death by karate chop,
Moments before the deadly blow. The raised fin is about to come crashing down like a karate chop on a shark (circled). It has been driven to the surface by the orca before this coup de grace
via dailymail.co.uk
An interesting article on how Orcas track and kill sharks.... check it out, and the other photos. I do think their sheer size difference helps, but I am intrigued how they have learned that holding a shark upside down can immobilize it! Shame that humans have not go th3 ability to do that to sharks when they are attacked!
Killer whales: Death by karate chop,
Moments before the deadly blow. The raised fin is about to come crashing down like a karate chop on a shark (circled). It has been driven to the surface by the orca before this coup de grace
via dailymail.co.uk
An interesting article on how Orcas track and kill sharks.... check it out, and the other photos. I do think their sheer size difference helps, but I am intrigued how they have learned that holding a shark upside down can immobilize it! Shame that humans have not go th3 ability to do that to sharks when they are attacked!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Whale Watch® - Kaikoura - New Zealand
via whalewatch.co.nz
Congratulations to Whale Watch Kaikoura who have won the supreme prize at this year's Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards in London.
Check out their interactive flash site linked above (needs Flash).
or go here if you aren't able to see that one - http://www.whalewatch.co.nz/index.asp
There is also a great article from the British Telegraph and a video on whale watching on here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/greentravel/6543760/New-Zealand-Whale-watching-company-wins-Virgin-Holidays-Responsible-Tourism-Awards.html
I first went with them in 1998 - and yes, we saw a whale... and although we now stick to our annual dolphin swims, we often see the whale watching boats out near us. Last week they launched their new boat... The Wawahia is the sixth in Whale Watch Kaikoura's New Zealand fleet. It was designed by Teknicraft Design and built by Q-West Boat builders in Wanganui at a cost of $2.5m, and is the first of a planned new generation fleet of whale watching vessels.
Hopefully we will get to see it when we go back next March :)
Whale Watch® - Kaikoura - New Zealand
via whalewatch.co.nz
Congratulations to Whale Watch Kaikoura who have won the supreme prize at this year's Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards in London.
Check out their interactive flash site linked above (needs Flash).
or go here if you aren't able to see that one - http://www.whalewatch.co.nz/index.asp
There is also a great article from the British Telegraph and a video on whale watching on here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/greentravel/6543760/New-Zealand-Whale-watching-company-wins-Virgin-Holidays-Responsible-Tourism-Awards.html
I first went with them in 1998 - and yes, we saw a whale... and although we now stick to our annual dolphin swims, we often see the whale watching boats out near us. Last week they launched their new boat... The Wawahia is the sixth in Whale Watch Kaikoura's New Zealand fleet. It was designed by Teknicraft Design and built by Q-West Boat builders in Wanganui at a cost of $2.5m, and is the first of a planned new generation fleet of whale watching vessels.
Hopefully we will get to see it when we go back next March :)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
New Invention for saving stranded whales
New Zealand is a small island with many kilometers of shoreline, so we tend to get a lot of whale strandings.... as do many other places in the world, like Tasmania in Australia.
So I was really pleased to see that one of the winning inventions in the current James Dyson Design Awards is a special cover designed to keep them cool for longer. If they can be found in the area of the strandings, it should be a huge improvement on the current recommended process of placing wet sacks over them!
This competition is open to final-year tertiary students studying design, technology or engineering, and to graduates in these areas who are in their first three years of work.
The cover has special cooling gel pockets....and was designed by industrial design graduate, Jamaine Fraser, who will attend the Creative Catalyst meeting for East Asian emerging creative entrepreneurs in Bangkok this year, as a guest of British Council New Zealand.
http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-12/mass-whale-strandings-tasmania
As you can imagine, this is a distressing experience for people, as after many hours of trying to keep them hydrated and breathing, many of these wonderful animals still die.
So I was really pleased to see that one of the winning inventions in the current James Dyson Design Awards is a special cover designed to keep them cool for longer. If they can be found in the area of the strandings, it should be a huge improvement on the current recommended process of placing wet sacks over them!
This competition is open to final-year tertiary students studying design, technology or engineering, and to graduates in these areas who are in their first three years of work.
The cover has special cooling gel pockets....and was designed by industrial design graduate, Jamaine Fraser, who will attend the Creative Catalyst meeting for East Asian emerging creative entrepreneurs in Bangkok this year, as a guest of British Council New Zealand.
Eleven New Zealand entries, including the three national finalists, will progress to online judging in the international James Dyson Award competition. The global James Dyson Award winner will be announced in September 2009 and together with their university, they will win a total prize fund of £20,000 or local currency equivalent.They still do not understand why these mass strandings happen but there are plenty of ideas!
James Dyson, engineer and inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner: says “Design surrounds us. It inspires us. It makes more things possible. As our need for good design and technology increases so does the need for innovative and adventurous designers, engineers and scientists.
“If you think you have a way of making something better, don’t be afraid to be different, and don’t give up if people reject your ideas, trust your instincts. We want to encourage future generations of design engineers.”
All entries can be viewed on www.jamesdysonaward.org
http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-12/mass-whale-strandings-tasmania
Pilot whales are among the most social marine mammals, often traveling in pods that include hundreds of individuals. Although these strong social bonds help the whales survive, their herding behavior can also lead to their demise -- as one whale emits a distress call that prompts the other members of the pod to follow. Some scientists believe that the whales become stranded when they are forced to chase prey too close to shore. Predators like killer whales can also cause "panic" within a whale pod, disorienting them and "herding" them towards the shoreline. Other researchers have suggested that the whales' echolocation system may not detect gently sloping coastlines. More controversial theories attribute whale beaching to military sonar and changes in the Earth's magnetic field, which could interfere with the animals' ability to navigate. But none of these theories have yet been proven, and the reason behind mass whale strandings is still a mystery.These majestic animals deserve more respect - go Greenpeace...
Sperm Whales tail with Whale Watch Kaikoura, New Zealand
New Invention for saving stranded whales
New Zealand is a small island with many kilometers of shoreline, so we tend to get a lot of whale strandings.... as do many other places in the world, like Tasmania in Australia.
So I was really pleased to see that one of the winning inventions in the current James Dyson Design Awards is a special cover designed to keep them cool for longer. If they can be found in the area of the strandings, it should be a huge improvement on the current recommended process of placing wet sacks over them!
This competition is open to final-year tertiary students studying design, technology or engineering, and to graduates in these areas who are in their first three years of work.
The cover has special cooling gel pockets....and was designed by industrial design graduate, Jamaine Fraser, who will attend the Creative Catalyst meeting for East Asian emerging creative entrepreneurs in Bangkok this year, as a guest of British Council New Zealand.
http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-12/mass-whale-strandings-tasmania
As you can imagine, this is a distressing experience for people, as after many hours of trying to keep them hydrated and breathing, many of these wonderful animals still die.
So I was really pleased to see that one of the winning inventions in the current James Dyson Design Awards is a special cover designed to keep them cool for longer. If they can be found in the area of the strandings, it should be a huge improvement on the current recommended process of placing wet sacks over them!
This competition is open to final-year tertiary students studying design, technology or engineering, and to graduates in these areas who are in their first three years of work.
The cover has special cooling gel pockets....and was designed by industrial design graduate, Jamaine Fraser, who will attend the Creative Catalyst meeting for East Asian emerging creative entrepreneurs in Bangkok this year, as a guest of British Council New Zealand.
Eleven New Zealand entries, including the three national finalists, will progress to online judging in the international James Dyson Award competition. The global James Dyson Award winner will be announced in September 2009 and together with their university, they will win a total prize fund of £20,000 or local currency equivalent.They still do not understand why these mass strandings happen but there are plenty of ideas!
James Dyson, engineer and inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner: says “Design surrounds us. It inspires us. It makes more things possible. As our need for good design and technology increases so does the need for innovative and adventurous designers, engineers and scientists.
“If you think you have a way of making something better, don’t be afraid to be different, and don’t give up if people reject your ideas, trust your instincts. We want to encourage future generations of design engineers.”
All entries can be viewed on www.jamesdysonaward.org
http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-12/mass-whale-strandings-tasmania
Pilot whales are among the most social marine mammals, often traveling in pods that include hundreds of individuals. Although these strong social bonds help the whales survive, their herding behavior can also lead to their demise -- as one whale emits a distress call that prompts the other members of the pod to follow. Some scientists believe that the whales become stranded when they are forced to chase prey too close to shore. Predators like killer whales can also cause "panic" within a whale pod, disorienting them and "herding" them towards the shoreline. Other researchers have suggested that the whales' echolocation system may not detect gently sloping coastlines. More controversial theories attribute whale beaching to military sonar and changes in the Earth's magnetic field, which could interfere with the animals' ability to navigate. But none of these theories have yet been proven, and the reason behind mass whale strandings is still a mystery.These majestic animals deserve more respect - go Greenpeace...
Sperm Whales tail with Whale Watch Kaikoura, New Zealand
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
