Rise in Tailless Whale
Sightings Has Scientists Concerned

Experts say that entanglement in fishing gear and
other objects is a likely cause for the gruesome
injuries.

National Geographic, 7 May 2018

TALE OF A WHALE

Without flukes, feeding is difficult: Gray
whales need their tails as a propeller to
navigate headfirst into the muddy seafloor
and filter out small crustaceans.
What's more, the species' lengthy
migration from birthing grounds

in Mexico to feeding grounds in the Arctic becomes extremely challenging without a tail to
power their journey. (See "A Gray Whale Breaks the Record for the Longest Mammal
Migration.") Flukeless mothers also can't defend their calves from killer whales.
That said, Schulman-Janiger, a whale biologist who runs the American Cetacean Society'sGray
Whale Census and Behavior Project, is fascinated by some animals' ability to adapt to their
handicap.

JUST A FLUKE?

The uptick in gray whale sightings is in line with a general increase in whale entanglements over the years. Between 2000 and 2012, the number of such incidents averaged 10 per year, according to NOAA. In 2017, there were 31, Folkens says.

The reason for the rise is unknown, though people might just be better at noticing them, says
Folkens. But there are also more whales around to become entangled. Populations of grays,
blues, and humpback whales have flourished in recent years, he says. Some entangled whales
can be rescued—trained wildlife experts freed six of those 31 reported cases in 2017 on the
U.S. West Coast, Folkens says—and a few break free on their own.

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