Even though, naval sonar is necessary for the Navy and our safety, it has been shown to disrupt feeding and other vital behavior and to cause a wide range of species to frighten and take off. Marine experts are alarmed about the increasing effect of all of these impacts on marine animals. When the military uses sonar location on their submarines the sonar waves are hurting whales. Whales communicate with other individuals in their species by vocalizations; they use sonar much more than sight to find their food, families, and directions. The frequency that both whales and the military use falls between “100 and 500 Hz. Whales send signals out between 160 and 190 Db, the Navy has tested its sonar signals at levels up to 235 Db.” As explained in Science Wire. It is evident that the military sound waves are interfering with the whale’s communication between one another.
To prove their point a group of scientists tested low frequency sound on whales, these sounds are not as loud as the military sonar. Scientist reproduced the sound at a whale feeding zone and observed that none of the whales responded in the same way, some avoided the feeding ground and many other fled from the noise. This experiment clearly shows sonar is bothering the whales. The Navy does not dispute the potential danger to the marine mammals, recognizing in “its own environmental assessments that the sonar may permanently damage as many as 500 whales and temporarily deafen at least 8,000 whales.” (Scientific America November 12, 2008). Some ways the environmentalist are trying to help the situation is by asking the Navy to agree on having a safety zone (there will be areas where the Navy can promise not to make high sounds) and also have Navy exercise work zones wh...
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...tect the whales during their routine training. By taking these steps the navy in no way would compromise our military readiness. Many whales are dying and the navy does not want to take the blame. Whales should not have to suffer or die for military practice. In order to protect our planet we most compromise. It is imminent that our Navy has the need to improve their technology and to prepare their officials to use it. But, it is also imminent, that sonar frequencies are disturbing our whales. In the need to protect our lives, we cannot endanger the lives of our ecosystems. Whales are a very important part of our Marine ecosystem; we most compromise and guarantee their safety. The Navy needs to find a way to improve their technology and stop hurting animals. As a planet we need to find out a way to be able to work all of our technology without hurting our world.
“Whales provide us with the food for our bodies, bones for our tools and implements and spirits for our souls.” “We haven’t hunted the whale for 70 years but have hunted them in our hearts and in our minds.” “Whales are a central focus of our culture today as they have been from the beginning of time.”
When an intelligent animal accustomed to swimming in thousands of miles of open ocean is placed in an environment only twice its size, is separated from its species, and is forced to perform tricks, there are bound to be consequences. The captivity of these animals should be banned and National Reserves and whale tours should be used to educate the public while admiring these animals' true beauty. There are few experiences more meaningful than witnessing a killer whale enjoying the freedom of the open ocean.
These whale songs can be heard by humans because Humpback whales usually swim near the coast and sing with a strong voice. Whale songs can be heard in 30 kilometres’ distance.
Today, in addition to the bottlenose dolphins, the Navy program includes sea lions and white beluga whales. The sea lions have excellent hearing and can dive much deeper than dolphins. They are trained for marking mines and retrieving torpedoes or practice mines, all while being more efficient than human divers. The white beluga whales dive deeper than the sea lions to recover inert torpedoes and are currently on loan from Sea World.
A killer whale doesn’t have very many enemies. One of a killer whale's biggest enemies is the human species. Humans have been hunting killer whales since the 12th century; whalers around the world have killed thousands of killer whales. Other threats to killer whales are toxic wastes, oil spills, and garbage in the oceans. Oil spills are extremely dangerous because not only do they damage killer whales, but also they will hurt any thing else in the oceans. Garbage kills ocean life worldwide every year. Currently the threats are
In conclusion, education, research and conservation is a very important role that we can make to improve the lives of Orca whales, but at what cost? When you have to take an animal out of its natural habitat and deprive it of all its natural instincts, cause unnecessary emotional and physical problems, and put the lives of the whales and their trainers at risk, what are we learning? That it’s okay to possess them merely for our entertainment and profit? A wild animal’s life remains destroyed and many lives have ended, all for dangerous entertainment.
The latest animal rights issue to hit the public is a whale of a controversy. For decades, the public has enjoyed visiting SeaWorld and taking in mesmerizing displays of aquatic performance by orcas, the largest species of dolphins, and their trainers. Recent events have stirred up a media uproar over the safety of these creatures and their trainers. Much of what the public knows about the maltreatment of these creatures comes from a documentary released in 2013 called “Blackfish”. The breeding and captivity of killer whales for entertainment purposes poses a threat not only to the whales, but also the trainers who interact with them.
Hackmann, Willem Dirk. “SONAR.” Encyclopedia of World War II. Vol. 2. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Modern World History Online. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. .
Killer whales are in danger when they are in captivity. When they are kept in their small cages, they have no where to go or run and hide when they sense fear or tension. While in the wild they have thousands of miles to escape incase tension builds up with another tribe of orcas (killer whales). Here’s something to think about, Why should killer whales stay in captivity after you hear about the violence they are doing to one another and innocent humans? In the movie “Blackfish” it shows trainers working with the marine mammals, and it shows the violence and the aggravation in the movie also. People don't understand that killer whales need to be where they belong because living in an environment that the orcas have no clue about can be dangerous for them. Orcas that live in th...
The quest to gain international agreement on ethical and legal norms for regulation of whaling has had a long and troubled history. The modern phase of global concern over whaling ethics and conservationist management originated in 1946, when the International Convention on Regulation of Whaling was signed. Thus, the International Whaling Commission was created. The International Whaling Commission was designed to control and mandate the whaling industry. From it’s beginning as simply a whalers club with scientific guidance, to the current day conservationist body, the IWC has undergone many revisions and transformations since the start.
Killer whales communicate by a series of clicks and whistles called vocalization. Each pod, or family, has their own unique language. This gives whales the ability to identify their own pods. Orcas have a brain that is about five ti...
...te shark slaughter all around the globe. The easiest way to help stop this is to go to one of the many websites developed for this very reason, and support them. Sharks cannot speak for themselves, so we must speak for them and stop shark slaughter!
If Australia leads the way to making stricter rules to save the lives of these majestic creatures, the variety of species can recover. Overall the humpback whale has moved from 'vulnerable' to 'least concern' on the IUCN Red List, a list of the worlds species facing the highest risk of extinction. This means that overall humpback whales are less likely to become extinct which is a level needed for all whales. This is a great recovery however it is not enough to restore the marine balance in the oceans. We need at act NOW, in order to safeguard the futures of our worlds whales.
...r humans because killer whales are one of the world's most powerful predators. Perhaps the greatest threat to the killer whales comes from the disturbance and degradation of its habitat. As a top predator, the killer whale is particularly vulnerable to the accumulation of contaminants in its tissues; for example, some populations have been found to carry high levels of chemicals such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), with negatively affects survival and reproduction. Large-scale oil spills can also affect the killer whales, either directly, or indirectly by reducing the abundance of its prey. Disturbance from boats and other man-made underwater noises can affect their behavior, disrupt echolocation and social calls, and reduce the ability of orcas to forage effectively. This may become a problem in areas where whale-watching is becoming popular. (Arkive).
The numbers of marine mammals present in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States has fluctuated over the past century. Declines have been credited to various causes, which are a mix of anthropogenic and natural processes. One major cause of marine mammal decline is whaling. Even though this practice has been prohibited, the effects of commercial whaling in the United States can still be seen today. The main whale species affected included North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica), bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were exploited in an increased fashion after World War II (Springer et al., 2003). Whaling did not only affect whale populations, but it also affects populations of seals, sea lions, and sea otters. This is hypothesized to be the result of top-down forces from whaling, forcing great whales to shift their food sources to these smaller marine mammals. During the Second World War, whaling of great whales was at its peak. These whales were used for oils for lubricants, food, and other needs of the people of the United States. However, this heavy use of great whale stocks forced killer whales (Orcinus orca) to begin feeding on smaller marine mammals, such as seals, sea lions, and sea otters (Trites et al., 2006). It is also thought that declines in these smaller marine mammals is due to a decline in nutritional limits in their habitats, competition with fisheries, as well as changing climates.