Whale Stories

  • What a whale needs

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2024
    Using cutting-edge technology, researchers are uncovering profound links among ocean health, climate change, and the denizens of the deep
    Drone photo of 2 humpback whales in blue water
  • A corridor for blue whales, humpbacks, and more marine wildlife

    November 15, 2023

    Once home to a whaling station, Chile's Guafo Island now teems with biodiversity. It's a cetecean migratory hotspot and the site of a major conservation project for 10 Indigenous tribes and WWF.

    A humpback whale feeds in the waters near Guafo Island, Chile
  • Here's how satellite data is helping to protect whales

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2023
    Despite improved policies to protect these animals in recent decades, whales increasingly face warmer waters and the impacts of global trade.
    A baby humpback whale glides along its mother's back underwater
  • How wildlife help combat the climate crisis

    November 29, 2022

    Combatting climate change helps save wildlife populations around the globe, but the reverse is also true: Wildlife conservation plays an essential role in regulating our climate. By saving wildlife, we help save the planet, including ourselves.

    Sea otter closeup of face
  • Whales on the move

    July 05, 2022

    The growing dangers whales face worldwide along their epic migrations are signs of an ocean in peril, and reveal how these waters connect us all.

    A baby humpback whale glides along its mother's back underwater
  • North Atlantic right whale population continues to decline, raising alarms

    November 29, 2021

    Only 366 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are left, experts say, representing a shocking 8% decline in a single year and the lowest number in about 20 years for this iconic species. Human impacts—specifically entanglements in fixed fishing gear and vessel strikes from ship traffic—remain the biggest threats to the survival of this species.

    North Atlantic right whale and calf swim in green waters off the coast of Florida
  • Eye to eye: An up-close encounter with gray whales in Mexico's Baja Peninsula

    March 30, 2021

    Every late winter and early spring, gray whales navigate to the protected bays of the Baja Peninsula, to mate or give birth to their young. Getting up close to these amazing animals is an unforgettable experience.

    A close-up of a gray whale underwater but near the surface
  • Whales and the plastics problem

    February 18, 2021

    Protecting whales is crucial to protecting healthy oceans for all of us. Yet even these ocean giants are being impacted by the "deadliest predator in the sea": plastic pollution.

    A sperm whale floats toward the surface of the ocean while a white plastic bag floats just below
  • The Whales of Antarctica

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2019
    Whales don’t recognize national boundaries. But they do have core geographies and habitats where they most often roam—whether to rest, mate, frolic, or feed. Discover a few of the Antarctic’s whales.
    graphic whale5 fall2019
  • Hot spot

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2019
    As global temperatures shoot up, the vast storehouse of ice in Antarctica is at risk. A team tags whales, shares data, and works together to protect a changing ecosystem at the bottom of the world.
    Humpback breaching
  • How tagging whales can help us understand ocean pollution

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2019
    Microplastics have accumulated abundantly in the Mediterranean. WWF is analyzing traces of plastic we find in whales to understand the strain that rising pollution puts on our oceans and marine life.
    Whale with arrow
  • New technology helps WWF and partners study whales in one of the most remote places on the planet

    May 21, 2019

    Using new technology, like drones and digital tags, researchers have found that nearly every part of the Antarctica peninsula is important for whales’ feeding and resting. But it is also a hotspot for global climate change. WWF is calling for the protection of this remote wilderness in or effort to preserve 30% of the oceans by 2030.

    whale fluke Chris Johnson
  • Remarkable video shows how minke whale feeds

    February 20, 2018

    For the first time ever, scientists in Antarctica attached a camera to a minke whale and captured incredible evidence of how it feeds. The camera – one of three “whale cams” funded by WWF-Australia – is part of efforts by scientists to better protect whale feeding areas in Antarctica.

    minke whale Antarctic
  • A whale's eye view of Antarctica

    April 14, 2017

    Whales are awe-inspiring and often elusive creatures. Their distribution and critical feeding areas are currently poorly understood, and as climate change and krill fishing increase, our time to learn more about these giant mammals is running out. However, with the help of Dr. Ari Friedlaender, a whale ecologist and National Geographic Explorer, WWF is using whale tagging to discover a wealth of new information.

    The fluke of a humpback whale diving to feed
  • US permanently protects some of the Arctic's most important marine areas

    December 20, 2016

    Just one week after scientists warned of unprecedented change brought on by warming in the Arctic, President Obama announced permanent protection for 115 million acres of federal waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Including previous presidential withdrawals, today's action protects nearly 125 million acres in the offshore Arctic from future oil and gas activity.

    sea ice in the Arctic
  • Baby Animals and Their Moms

    May 04, 2015

    We all know how great moms can be. The same is true in parts of the wild. Take a look at a few images of animals with their parents.

    zebra and mom
  • A Whale of a Feast

    December 10, 2013

    Unprecedented numbers of humpback whales have been gorging themselves for the last few months in the waters around Monterey Bay, California.

    humback whale jump
  • New Hope for Marine Life

    November 06, 2012

    On November 6, 2012, the Government of Mozambique announced the creation of the second largest marine protected area in Africa. Made up of ten islands off the coast of northern Mozambique, this coastal marine reserve in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago will cover more than 4020 square miles and contains abundant coral and turtle species.

    Local fishermen