This event happened last month but, deserves some attention. Police in southwest China arrested two men after killing a whale shark. This arrest occurred after pictures of the whale shark went viral. This shark was seen every year by oil rig workers in the area and they described the whale shark as an “old friend”. This arrest is another good example of the public bringing attention to injustice and calling for government action. The picture on the right breaks our hearts. Whale sharks are listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, just a step above endangered. China also protects this animal and requires that a whale shark be set free if caught. Read more…
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2. A Plan to Give Whales and Other Ocean Life Some Peace and Quiet
In previous versions of Week in Review we’ve covered reports on various plastic innovations. This week, EcoWatch summarized the 5 companies leading the charge in using ocean plastic in their products. Ocean plastic has been recovered and reused to make shoes, clothes, homes, packing material and cleaning products. We love the innovation that these companies have shown! Read more…
An article published in the Journal of Fish Biology revealed that there are individual personality differences in Port Jackson sharks. The lead author Evan Byrnes reports that “personality is no longer considered a strictly human characteristic, rather it is a characteristic deeply engrained in our evolutionary past”. The trials in the study were designed to test the shark’s boldness. The first test was to place the sharks in a tanks and see who long it took for them to emerge from their refuge box into a new environment. The second test exposed how they were able to handle stress. Read more…
5. Free Online Shark Course!
Well, everyone knows that I already signed up for this one! Cornell University in collaboration with The University of Queensland created a new open online course titled ‘Sharks! Global Biodiversity, Biology, and Conservation.’ The course starts during Shark Week on June 28th and is completely free. All you need is an internet connection! Throughout the course, students will learn about the habits, anatomy, evolution, and ecological roles of sharks. Enroll in the course on the edx page here…
