"Growing Ship Traffic Threatens Blue Whales"

"MIRISSA, Sri Lanka — In early April, whale watchers off this country’s southern coast were greeted by a disturbing sight: the lifeless body of a 60-foot-long blue whale floating in the water about 12 miles offshore.

The body was swelling rapidly, and suckerfish swarmed across its skin. Even more unsettling was the condition of its tail, which had been nearly severed from the body.

'It was very obviously from a ship’s propeller,' said Mazdak Radjainia, a structural biologist and underwater photographer from the University of Auckland in New Zealand who happened upon the whale. 'It must have been a really cruel death, because it was such a massive injury.'"

Erik Olsen reports for the New York Times July 2, 2012.

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"Protect Whales From New Oil Industry Threat, Warns WWF" (Guardian)