🌊🐋 Grey whales along the Pacific coast are shrinking—and that's not good news.
Imagine your favorite superheroes losing their powers. That's kinda what's happening to these majestic giants of the sea. Since the year 2000, grey whales have been getting smaller, and scientists are raising the alarm. 📣
A team of researchers from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and Oregon State University in the U.S. studied about 200 grey whales—think of it as the whale version of a big family reunion. Using drones (yes, drones! 🚁), they captured images from 2016 to 2022 of 130 whales whose ages they could estimate.
Their discovery? Whales born in 2020 are likely to be 1.65 meters shorter than those born in 2000. 😱 That's like losing the height of a full-grown person! To put it in perspective, it’s as if the average height of women in the U.S. dropped from 162 cm to 142 cm in just two decades.
This whopping 13% decrease in size isn't just a random growth spurt gone wrong. Climate change and human activities are making life tougher for these whales. Their smaller size could affect how they survive and have baby whales in the future. 🐋💔
The study, published in Global Change Biology, also found that changes in ocean patterns—the \"upwelling\" and \"relaxation\" cycles—are linked to this shrinkage. Kinda like how the vibes at a party can totally change the mood, the ocean's changes are impacting whale growth.
Why should we care? Well, grey whales are like the oceans' nomads, traveling thousands of miles and playing a huge role in the marine ecosystem. Their shrinkage is a big red flag about the health of our oceans. 🌎
So next time you think about climate change, remember it's not just about melting ice caps—it's also about our whale friends not growing as big as they should! Let's keep our oceans healthy—for them and for us. 💙
Reference(s):
Pacific coast grey whales shrinking in size as climate changes
cgtn.com
