Launch of world’s most comprehensive guide to whales and dolphins highlights the many mysteries that still remain

Did you know that the baby blue whale drinks up to 225 litres of milk a day, that the common dolphin is not the most common or that the right whale’s penis is the biggest in the animal kingdom? Thanks to WDCS you do now!

The most comprehensive on-line guide to whales and dolphins is launched this week following over a year’s painstaking work by researchers at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), which ironically, along with a number of fascinating facts, has revealed exactly how little we humans still know about these magnificent creatures. The guide, which is of particular use to students, researchers, the tourist trade, and journalists comes in three languages, and provides interesting and easy to use insights into the creature’s habitats, behaviour, and where to find them. It also features 80 maps, over 400 images, a threat index (which highlights the level of danger facing each species) and contact details should you need to ‘ask the expert’. So, if you are trying to identify a whale that that you may have seen on holiday, looking for information on dolphins for a study project or feature article, trying to answer a quiz question or just curious about these amazing creatures and the dangers they face each day, then all you now need to do is click http://www2.wdcs.org/species/index.php Did you know…? -Sperm whale is the deepest diver -A dolphin embryo looks just like a human one -A baby blue whale drinks about 225 litres of milk a day, gaining 3.7 kilograms an hour, until at age 8 months they are 15 m long and 22.5 tonnes! -Maui’s and Vaquita are the most endangered -Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin has the ‘best’ hearing -Right whale’s penis is the longest (and has largest testicles) in the animal kingdom -Common dolphin is not most common -Bowhead whales (spend their lives in Arctic waters) longest lived of all whales – possibly 200 years -South Asian river dolphin is functionally blind -The largest ever recorded blue whale was an Antarctic female 30.5 m long with an estimated weight of 144 tonnes -The heart of a blue whale weighs up to 1000 pounds, and that the aorta, a major blood vessel for the heart, is big enough for a small-sized human to crawl through. The heart is about the size of a VW Beatle -A humpback calf nurses on about 40-60 gallons of milk per day and the milk is about 40% milk fat (about the consistency of cottage cheese mixed with yogurt) -Beluga whales are called the "canaries of the sea" because they make sounds like the little yellow birds -Pacific humpback whales migrate more than 6000 miles a year, one of the longest migrations of any species in the world -A single fin whale pee is about 970 litres/day However, despite the wealth of information contained within the guide, WDCS is putting out a worldwide call to help fill the knowledge gap and help preserve these amazing animals for a long time to come. “It’s a living, breathing resource and we are calling on people to provide input to help fill the gaps”, says WDCS International Projects Co-ordinator, Nicola Hodgins. “We have about 15 species for which we have no detailed imagery. The more we know the more we can do to help these amazing creatures.” Mystery…? “One of the biggest mysteries that still prevails is that of the beaked whales. In particular the Andrew’s beaked whale and spade toothed beaked whale, which we have placed on our top 10 most wanted list because we know of no live images,” says Hodgins. Despite all the information that we have painstakingly pulled together for this guide, they remain one of the most poorly known family of all large mammals. Many are known only from the study of the skeletal and stranded remains and, because their external appearance and behaviour are so poorly documented, even experts can find it impossible to correctly identify these animals at sea. When they do pop up they don’t hang around for long at the surface.” WDCS top 10 ‘most wanted’ list: 1) Andrew’s beaked whale 2) Hector’s beaked whale 3) Hubb’s beaked whale 4) Longman’s beaked whale 5) Perrin’s beaked whale 6) Pygmy beaked whale 7) Pygmy right whale 8) Pygmy sperm whale 9) Shepherd’s beaked whale 10) Spade-toothed beaked whale “This guide is an important addition to the current online information about cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and the next phase will be to add acoustics and video, so all help is gratefully received!” Hodgins concludes. -Ends- For more information, please contact the WDCS Press Office on 07834 498 277 or email press@wdcs.org www.wdcs.org