June 2023

Scientists studying endangered southern resident orcas have noticed a steady increase of mysterious gray patches and gray targets (circular lesions which may appear on concentric rings – ed.) on the whales’ skin from 2004 to 2016. 

To date, researchers managed to identify six distinct types of lesions, with the two most common types being gray patches or targets. Some resemble tattooed skin.

They do not know the cause of the lesions and are worried that they could be due to underlying health problems in the struggling population.

A new study demonstrates how animals recognise self-images.

Some animals have the remarkable capacity for mirror self-recognition (MSR), yet any implications for self-awareness remain uncertain.

In a test of MSR ability in cleaner fish, mirror-naive fish initially attacked photograph models of both themselves and unfamiliar strangers. In contrast, after all fish had passed the mirror mark test, they did not attack their own (motionless) images, but still frequently attacked those of unfamiliar individuals.

Have you ever noticed that when adults speak to babies or small children, they speak in a distinctively specific manner? As if by instinct, they speak in a high-pitched voice, with clear pronunciation and longer pauses between words.

It seems that this “baby talk” is not reserved for humans. Researchers have discovered that dolphins too indulge in baby talk—by changing their characteristic whistles and frequencies—when they communicate with their offspring.

Today, researchers are using the fossils of the Olympicetus thalassodon an early toothed whale which existed around 26.5 and 30.5 million years ago, to better understand the early history and diversification of modern dolphins, porpoises and other toothed whales.