Endangered Species The Whales By: Rachel Calderera Period: 2-A

Thesis Statement Whales are becoming endangered because of the actions humans are making.

Cause and Effect Relationship Whales are becoming endangered because of human actions, global warming, and poisonous organisms in the ocean. Effect: Whales are becoming endangered.

Background Information on Whales Whales have many unique qualities that make them very special. They have different senses. At least four different whale species sing songs. These species are the bowhead, humpback, blue, and fin whales. “The humpback whales sing the longest and most complex songs in the animal kingdom and only male whales sing songs.”(Hoyt, Page 58) This is how they mate with female whales. The low, loud sounds of the blue and fin whales can travel thousands of miles in the deep waters of the ocean. “Orcas communicate by using calls that can be heard ten miles away.” Whales are very interesting creatures that have many unknown qualities.

A Whale’s Habitat Whales have many homes in most of the oceans. They almost live in every ocean and some prefer shallow coastal waters. Sperm males are found above deep ocean canyons. Different kinds of whales live in different kinds of habitats. Their habitats are usually Polar Regions. They could be found in Southern Chile, Artic, The Galápagos, Coral Triangle, Gulf of California, and the Coastal East Africa. “Humpback whales and orcas live in both shallow and deep waters, depending on what they are feeding on, their behavior and the time of year.”(Hoyt, Page 9)

Continuation Of A Whale’s Habitat Gray whales mostly swim along the entire west coast of North America. They do this when they migrate from Mexico to Alaska. Toothed whales which are sperm whales and orcas travel over wider areas. Whales travel to many different places around the world and encounter many appearances that cause them to be extinct. Whales have many reasons why they travel. They travel for food, familiar surroundings or safe areas in which to raise their young and in search for mates. Humpback whales migrate between Antarctica and the waters off Columbia and Panama. They cross the equator.

Maps

In History…. Throughout history, whales have been hunted since 6000 BC. Native people of northern Canada and Alaska began hunting whales for meat and oil. In 3000 BC, there was recorded whaling in Labrador and Newfoundland. Whales are innocent creatures. They haven’t harmed the humans so humans shouldn’t harm them. In 2200 BC, rock carvings in Norway that depict whalers hunting in canoes with spears and in 400-1000 AD there was an Inuit whaling spreads from Alaska across Canada to Greenland. In the 11th Century an industry was created from hunting whale right whales. The first commercial whalers in the world were the Basques of Western Europe. In 1607, Dutch and British whalers began hunting the bowhead whale off Spitsbergen and in the 1640’s New England colonists starting hunting local humpback whales. Humans have caused most of these whales to be endangered.

Continuation of Whales in History Whales should be left alone. They are large, beautiful creatures who should live in peace. In 1712, a Nantucket Island captain accidently discovered a prime sperm whale area, so he created a market for another species of whales. In the 1860’s steam ships and explosive harpoons emerge, which allowed whalers to kill with far greater efficiency and in 1904, whalers’ explored Antarctic waters and discovered hundreds of thousands of whales. These whales were slaughtered. By 1970, 369,000 blue and 720,000 fin whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere. These whales are very important and should not be hunted. “In 2004, a worldwide study reveals that more than 500 areas have now been established or proposed to conserve the critical habitat of whales. Still pressures on whales are growing from fishing conflicts, boat collisions, pollution, global warming, and increasing whaling activity.” (Hoyt, Page 10) People want to have whales in our future. They are beautiful creatures.

Human Actions Whales are very significant in the marine environment. Even though they are one of the largest animals in the world they are still endangered. They don’t even have any predators. They are becoming endangered because of human actions. These human actions are hunting and selling whale parts. In the first place, whales are being hunted for their blubber. Blubber is fat. The whales’ blubber was boiled into oil and the whale oil was burned for heat and lamp light. People used whales for all different types of reasons. People also used parts of whales for soap, paint, perfume, leather tanning, umbrella ribs, fishing rods, buggy springs, and whips. The rest of the whale which was meat was wasted. Humans are also making whales get caught in fishing nets. People are putting these nets in the ocean for fish but are getting whales instead. Many whales die because they get tangled in nets.

Continuation of Human Actions Others die from chemical pollution and boat traffic and noise. Humans are causing too much pollution by traveling by boats and ships. The air isn’t good for the whales to breathe in. The food whales are eating are becoming scarce because humans use krill as food, a health supplement, and to feed the fish or livestock. Scientists are worried because humans are leaving too little krill for the animals to eat. Whales aren’t safe in their own habitat because of all the actions humans are making.

Global Warming and Climate Change Whales are becoming endangered because of a major problem. That problem is global warming and climate change. These problems are causing the whales food to become scarce. The food that whales eat is krill. Krill are part of the base of the ocean food web and many animals eat them. These animals are fish, birds, seals, and whales. “Krill depends on the algae that grow under polar sea ice. As the sea ice shrinks, there is less food for krill. Also the climate changes are causing the whales to become confused during migration. The whales aren’t sure when they are supposed to migrate or when they should remain in their habitat. Whales don’t eat more to build up layers of blubber when the climate is warmer than it should be. Their bodies could become too cold when they aren’t prepared for lower temperatures. Since there body becomes too cold, their heart has to work harder. This is very dangerous for the whales. When the weather becomes too cold, this could prevent the blood from circulating like it usually does.

Toxic Organisms in the Ocean Whales are becoming endangered from toxic plants in the ocean. In 1987 and 1988 humpback whales were washed up against the shore. These whales were dead. The killers are tiny, poisonous plant plankton which is called an “algal bloom.” “These toxic organisms can kill fish and mammals that ingest them.” (Hoyt, Page 42) This organism can be very fatal to humans who consume shellfish. The algal bloom has become very common and researchers believe that they have become triggered by environment changes including pollution. Cancer can also be found in animals. PCBs are a group of chemicals which are known to carry cancer. Orcas carry heavy loads of these chemicals since they eat marine mammals and fish. They also carry heavy loads of this because the toxins become more concentrated as they move up the food chain. Whales are at the top of the food chain as predators. Also an orca was found dead in 2002 in the eastern part of North Pacific. This orca had the highest amount of PCBs ever recorded in another type of whale or a dolphin. Researchers are looking to find out if pollution is a cause of the PCBs chemical.

Solutions There are many reasons why the populations of whales are declining. Twelve species of whales became very rare so several countries decided to control the whale hunts. Some people are trying to save these whales by creating organizations. People want to solve the problems of the endangerment of whales. People want whale hunting to end. To make this happen, The International Whaling Commission was formed in 1946. This Commission decided the amount of whales in each species could be killed. Not all whaling countries joined the IWC and even some of the member countries didn’t follow the rules of the organization. The International Whaling Commission didn’t stop all whales from being killed. Moderation occurred because of this organization. It didn’t completely end the horrible things humans are doing to whales. Another organization was created to protect the whales’ habitat. This was known as The Antarctic Krill Conservation Project. This protects the krill that whales depend on to eat. There are many other organizations that protect whales and their habit.

Continuation of Solutions They are called Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Whalenet, Center for Coastal Studies, Mingan Island Cetacean Study, Tethys Research Institute, International Fund for Animal Welfare, World Wildlife Fund U.S, and the World Wildlife Fund Canada. All of these organizations care about the whales and want them to be in our future. Whales are very important in our world and should be saved. Whales are innocent creatures and should be left alone.

Ethnography I asked my mom what she thought on the topic of the endangerment of the whales. My mom thinks that we should do what we possibly can to protect them. They are beautiful creatures and are an important part of the marine environment. She also believes that more organizations should be created to save the whales. My mom also thinks that whale hunting is horrible. Whoever does this should be punished and should receive consequences. My mom also believes that there should be science research on the toxic organisms in the ocean. If scientists would research, maybe they would find a way to get rid of the toxic organisms. She also thinks that people should think before they act. Whales have done nothing to us so they should be left alone in peace.

MLA Citation Cohen Sara, Reasons To Care about Whales and Dolphins, 2010 Hoyt Erich, Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife Whale Rescue, 2005 Martin Louise, Wildlife in Danger Whales, 2001 www.worldwildlife.org/ www.whale-world.com/ Facts about Whales www.whale-world.com/ Whales and Global Warming