Have been told to get my bugle out and get back to blogging. Will do soon but always admire Opher’s posts, his persistence, and passion for protecting this wonderful world of biodiversity. Last year a whale beached near us in Portugal. The response of the majority of people was a desire to help and save it. In 2018 we have become more aware of the effects of plastic pollution, whales and other creatures found dead with plastic filling their stomachs and now the disgrace of Japan’s decision to continue with commercial whaling. Please support all those organisations that persist in confronting this terrible destruction of our close relatives of the ocean.
Some facts about whales:
In fact the sperm whale has the largest brain of all living animals.
Spindle cells found in several species of whale and dolphin also indicate the possibility of high intelligence
Dolphins and porpoises use vocal sounds and body language to communicate with one another. Baleen whales communicate over hundreds of miles using complex songs.
They have complex social structures. The social structure of killer whale for example (killer whales are actually dolphins) is often compared to that of elephants and humans, and is even considered by some to resemble a culture.
So why the hell are we hunting and cruelly killing these intelligent, sensitive creatures???
NavasolaNature 
Thanks Georgina. All the best to you. We need every soul out there to protect this beautiful planet.
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Indeed. And perhaps active resistance is now needed like the extinction rebellion group.
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Georgina,
I read recently of a beached whale in Indonesia, with several kilos of plastic in its stomach. I’m glad consciousness is getting raised about our irresponsible wastefulness, including consequences. What will it take to stop commercial whaling?
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Not sure but think somehow we should try and pressure the Japanese government to end this. I wonder what Japanese people understand about whales, perhaps more information about these amazing animals as we had with David Attenborough’s Blue Planet.
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Seems there’s a lot of pressure put on governments, these days, to no avail. Alternatively, there are opposing forces putting pressure on governments to do opposite things. I’m not a big fan of government, in any case, but we do seem to expect too much from them.
What are the markets for whale products? Meat? Oil? Bones? I suppose lots of whales are lost in commercial fisherman’s nets. And there are always the victims of plastic pollution.
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Thought I had replied but wifi was challenging in hotel over New Year! Individual and local responsibility is the best foundation but think we do need some standards for the environment that all countries keep to. Blue planet thinking but we are on a crash course for future generations. Hope you have a healthy and fulfilling 2019.
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Georgina,
If people are awake, the governments will follow. I don’t think it works the other way. I’m seeing more press coverage of the plastic-in-the-oceans problem, and I guess Starbucks no longer gives out plastic straws.
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I agree. With all our technological “advancements” we should be able to do better. Our ethical intelligence as a species has a lot of catching up to do. Thank you for sharing this.
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It is always a sad day when I read news about any of these creatures suffering our own neglect and thoughtfulness.
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It is sad but it is a good business in Japan, I guess.
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