Quick Dips

Whale Watching

Sperm whales off Kaikoura are to be studied over the next three years in an attempt to provide a better way of establishing their population size, ecology and distribution.

Researchers will eavesdrop with directional hydrophones on the clicking sounds used by the whales for navigation and food locating, and will develop a new stereo-photographic technique to identify and measure individual whales as they surface. Together the techniques should allow scientists to work out whales' size and gender.

The research is being funded by Telecom in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature.