There has been a major whale and dolphin decrease in the
past hundred years.
Humans have caused this decrease. Once the ocean was
FULL of these
creatures, and now they are beginning to get empty. Right whales and
other
highly hunted whales used to be common. Now there are only around 50 of
them.
Beluga whales were once in the millions. Now they have
decreased so greatly they're on the endangered species list. Millions to
thousands of dolphins are
trapped in tuna company nets, and are drowned every year. River dolphins
are almost extinct from human population and pollution. The question is,
do these majestic creatures stand a chance?
One thing that is lowering the great whale population is
the Japanese whaling.
The Japanese now have begun whaling AGAIN on endangered species. What's
more they are whaling in whale sanctuaries, where whales are supposed to
be
SAFE! The starting of this was when they sent out a whaling ship capable
of
killing 500 whales per mission. That's a lot compared to the few left!
Have you heard how they capture whales? Well there was
one sad case people
surrounded pods of whales and chased the whales into nets. The people
literally
tried to target the babies, and the mothers, terrified, jumped between
the nets
and the humans. The people then captured the mothers as the whales
mourned
and the babies really cried for their mothers! Out of around 20 whales
in that pod
there is only one survivor from that capture who is at Sea World, San
Diego.
Sadly all the rest drowned from panic, and the survivors from the
capture died in
captivity.
Read about the one whale left at:
Lolita's Page:
http://www.whaledom.com/lolita.shtml
Do you want to help save the whales and dolphins? Then
visit the sites below to
learn how:
E-The People: Petition - Free Lolita the orca at Miami Seaquarium
http://www.e-thepeople.com/petition.cfm?PETID=147410
Help the Dolphins from SLAUGHTER
http://www.lobbynet.com/dolphin/
Born Free Foundation's Orca project studying wild orca
and campaigning against captive Killer Whales
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/orca10.htm
ORCALAB
http://www.orcalab.org./
Go on to Voice For
The Voiceless (poem)
Return to 14 July 1999 Issue
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