Why are so many whales washing up dead on east-coast beaches?
The magnificent creatures are essentially jaywalking
Luna was last seen alive in September off the coast of Nova Scotia. Scientists had been tracking the 40-year-old whale for decades. Like all humpback whales his tail, called a fluke, had distinctive pigmentation patterns. These are used by scientists as a sort of fingerprint. Luna’s fluke had a moon shape, hence his name. Those tracking him knew every scar and took note of new ones whenever they saw him. The next time he was seen was when his carcass washed ashore in January on Lido Beach on Long Island, about 40 miles (65km) from Manhattan and 600 miles from Nova Scotia.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Ahab in Brooklyn”
United States March 18th 2023
- In America climate hawks and Big Oil alike cheer geothermal energy
- Theft from America’s anti-poverty programmes seems troublingly easy
- Chicago’s public schools are emptying. Politics makes it hard to fix
- The price of eggs in America cannot be explained by inflation alone
- Why are so many whales washing up dead on east-coast beaches?
- Why did America’s leaders stop caring about schools?
From the March 18th 2023 edition
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