Friday 18 July 2008

Right Whale Listening Network

Right Whales are an endangered species, characterized by a large head, whalebone plates in the mouth, and absence of a dorsal fin. They were so named by whalers, who for centuries considered them 'the right whales' to hunt, because they float when killed and because they yield enormous quantities of oil and of baleen.


Now, endangered North Atlantic right whales are safer along the coast of Massachusetts thanks to a new system of smart buoys. The buoys recognize the distinctive call of the whales and route the information to a public website and a marine warning system, giving ships the chance to avoid deadly collisions.

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