Not only is climate change contributing to the increase in whale deaths, but our craving for online shopping is also thought by researchers.
According to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there is a surge in mortality among whales today – since early December of last year alone, 23 dead whales have struck the east coast, The New York Times writes.
NOAA has been tracking humpback whale deaths on the Atlantic coast since 2016, but researchers had never observed such an increase before. Things have changed recently – more and more dead humpback whales, minke whales, and North Atlantic true whales, which are endangered, have been found dead.
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The researchers note that the cause of mass death of whales is definitely a combination of several factors at once, including the result of climate change and human intervention.
According to public relations director Lauren Gaches, climate change is actually partially responsible for mass whale deaths, as warmer oceans cause fish on which whales feed to come closer to shore. Currently, researchers around the world are watching how ocean inhabitants adapt to new realities by moving to new areas where conditions are more favorable for life.
As a result of the redistribution of prey, larger ocean inhabitants such as whales are also forced to approach the shore and therefore interact with humans more than before. In fact, whales often go on cargo ships to hunt for prey, which has multiplied over the past three years.
Researchers point out that the number of cargo ships in the ocean has increased significantly since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when people around the world started to prefer online shopping. As a result, this led to the proliferation of cargo ships carrying these goods across the Atlantic to the busy ports of New Jersey and New York. Compared to 2019, maritime traffic increased by almost a third last year, according to local authorities.
The more ships, the more often whale populations collide with them, and such collisions, as a rule, turn out very badly for the inhabitants of the ocean. Note that as a precaution, NOAA suggests limiting the speed of cargo ships to allow whales to leave the ship’s orbit, but the sad truth remains – whales will always follow their prey.
Previously Focus He wrote that the mysterious new behavior of whales is described in 2,000-year-old manuscripts.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.