Orcas use kelp to scratch each other's backs, like a natural loofah
The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Washington, has spent nearly 50 years monitoring a population of orcas known as the "southern residents." Ranging between US and Canadian waters in the Salish Sea, these ocean giants are perhaps the best-studied marine mammals in the world. "We can identify every individual and know how they're all maternally related, and yet we are still learning new things as we continue to study them," said Rachel John, a master's student at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, who co-authored the article and is researching these 80 cetaceans.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AFP
2 days ago
- AFP
Image of red Niagara Falls is fake
"SHOCKING SCENE: Niagara Falls Turns Blood Red for 10 Minutes, Stuns Visitors," claims the caption of a June 22, 2025 Facebook photo. The description of the page which shared the image indicates it traffics in content generated by artificial intelligence and the post received more than 24,000 likes. The picture of a red Niagara Falls spread in additional widely viewed Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X posts. Image Screenshot of a Facebook post taken July 2, 2025 many of the Facebook posts imitates the style of a copy-pasted news report -- a strategy adopted by many after Meta blocked the sharing of news links for Canadians on its platforms (archived here). However, many of the elements in the text appear to be completely contrived. For example, the caption references a hydrologist, "Dr. Rebecca Thompson," but keyword searches do not reveal anyone with that name practicing that profession. Beyond the social media posts, AFP could not find versions of the text in credible news sources. Furthermore, Niagara Falls Tourism told AFP the image was "completely false" and commented that it was likely generated by artificial intelligence. "The Falls don't change to those colors," said a spokesman for the tourism board in a July 2 email. "It will sometimes be brown when we experience heavy rains, but not red." Archived images of Niagara Falls from June 22 shared by the photography network EarthCam do not include any pictures of the waters at the site turning red as seen in the misleading social media posts (archived here). While some commenters on the posts appeared to believe the image was real, many users claiming to live nearby wrote that the waters did not change color. Image Screenshot of a Facebook comment section taken July 3, 2025 Light shows are a regular feature at Niagara Falls but the official schedule says they are only turned on at night, while the false posts claimed the image was captured in the early morning. The red from the lights do not match the appearance of the social media image where the full river supposedly turned red (archived here). Image Lights shine on Niagara Falls as the sun goes down in October 2003 (AFP / DON EMMERT) ously fact-checked images of Canadian tourist attractions in seemingly extraordinary circumstances, including . Read more of AFP's reporting of misinformation in Canada here.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
'Significant declines' in some species after deep-sea mining: research
The Metals Company -- a leading deep-sea mining firm -- paid Australia's government science agency to pore through data collected during test mining in the remote Pacific Ocean. Huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in metals used in battery production -- such as cobalt and nickel. The Metals Company is pushing to be the first to mine these nodules in international waters, striving to exploit a remote expanse known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Australia's government science agency released a series of technical reports on Thursday detailing how mining could be managed. Bottom-dwellers such as sea cucumbers, marine worms, starfish and crustaceans could see "significant declines in abundance immediately following mining", research found. Some of these species would partially bounce back within a year, but filter feeders and other tiny organisms that feast on seabed sediments showed "minimal recovery". "On the seafloor, our research shows that there are substantial local impacts from different mining operations," scientist Piers Dunstan said during a briefing. Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring out the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie five kilometres (three miles) or more beneath the waves. Most efforts focus on robotic harvesting machines, or crawlers, which hoover up nodules as they rove the ocean floor. The Australian scientists looked at how sharks and fish might be harmed by plumes of sediment discharged as mining waste. In some scenarios, apex predators could see toxic metals start to build up in their blood after prolonged exposure to these plumes. "Long-lived top predators, such as swordfish and large sharks, accumulated the highest simulated metal concentrations," scientists noted in one report. 'Risk of harm' Simulations showed blood metal concentrations would not exceed international health guidelines, and impacts were less pronounced if sediment was discharged at a greater depth. "This project helps ensure that if deep-sea mining were to go ahead, there is a clear approach to understand potential risks and impacts to marine life and ecosystems," Dunstan said. Canada-based The Metals Company is striving to start industrial deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone within the next two years. The International Seabed Authority -- which oversees deep-sea mining in international waters -- has yet to adopt long-awaited rules governing the industry. The Metals Company has indicated it could forge ahead even without the authority's approval, pointing to an obscure US law that says American citizens can recover seabed minerals in areas beyond the nation's jurisdiction. The firm paid Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation -- or CSIRO -- around US$1 million to compile the reports. CSIRO stressed it was not for, or against, deep-sea mining -- but that its work would help to measure and monitor impacts should it go ahead. Energy transition expert Tina Soliman-Hunter said it was one of the "most comprehensive" pieces of research on deep-sea mining to date. "Without such research, there is a risk of harm from mining activities that can persist for generations," said Soliman-Hunter, from Australia's Macquarie University. Found in international waters between Mexico and Hawaii, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone is a vast abyssal plain spanning some 4 million square kilometres (1.7 million square miles).
France 24
4 days ago
- France 24
Canada turns to drones for reforestation after wildfires
This area of northern Quebec province was ravaged by megafires in the summer of 2023 and for the second year in a row a pilot project has been using drones to plant new black spruces and jack pines. Rather than simply dropping seeds from high above, the company Flash Forest, which is leading the initiative, uses seeds protected in capsules that also contain water and nutrients, as well as fungi, to maximize their growing potential. "There is a niche that's appropriate for drone reforestation which we've spent the last five years narrowing in on," Flash Forest cofounder Cameron Jones explained. The company focuses its efforts on forests that were scorched in the last year or two and excludes older burn sites that already have vegetation that can crowd out new seeds. 50,000 capsules per day It is no longer feasible to wait for Canada's forests to bounce back all on their own with millions of hectares of forests destroyed each year. In 2023, Canada experienced a record year of wildfires with blazes affecting every province, ultimately burning nearly 18 million hectares (44 million acres). Quebec, and particularly this area in the north of the French-speaking province, was hit especially hard that year. Drone operator and geospatial data scientist Owen Lucas says the method uses artificial intelligence to map out the sites ahead of time. "Then we pick our sites based on climate variables, physical attributes, topographic variables, to make sure we're putting the seeds in the right place," he said, his eyes fixed on the drone's remote controls. The company also has projects in another Canadian province, Alberta, and in Colorado in the United States. Each drone can deliver seeds to plant 50,000 trees per day. "When you're out here planting you don't see the impact, but when you come back in the fall and you see them growing, you know you're doing a positive thing," Lucas said. In 2023, like this year, which has already seen more than 4.2 million hectares burned across the country, megafires are being fueled by drought, which experts say is linked to global warming. "It's sad to have lost so much forest," lamented Angel Mianscum, one of the Indigenous leaders of a nearby Cree community. She was, however, pleased to see there are now "innovative ways of doing things." The Cree community has worked directly with Flash Forest to plan the local reforestation. Indigenous communities are the most affected by fires in Canada because they are often remote and deep in the boreal forest. Seed shortage "We are increasingly forced to reforest in Canada. Boreal forest trees are adapted to fires, but today the conditions are becoming more complicated," said Maxence Martin, professor of forest ecology at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Temiscamingue. He points out that in 2023, for example, very young forests burned. "If the forest is too young, it will take a very long time to start regenerating, so planting is the only option." While the use of drones can help reach certain areas more quickly, it also has its downsides: many seeds end up wasted. "And today there is a seed problem because they are complicated to harvest," and therefore Canada is short of them, Martin said.
