Environmental Issues

The whale is a mammal living in the sea. It belongs to the least numerous populations of animals living in the water habitat. Whales are considered to be mammals, since they have the mammary glands. This feature gives people the reason to suppose that whales have feelings. Some of the whales are toothed and take refuge in the deep waters where they hunt their prey. They are constantly in motion. The habitats of whales, the same as of other species, are very much affected by the humans.

The lives of whales are threatened through the negatively affected environment. The main treat comes from the human activities, for example, the pollution of the world ocean coming from the industrial wastage being released into it. This is one of the ways the anthropogenic factor affects whales, as well as other animals and the human beings. Commercial whaling also has a negative impact upon whales, as this keeps them in a kind of custody. In addition to this there are legal obstacles, for instance, when whales are killed for the economic gain (Brydon, 2006). The physiology of whales can help us deduce the importance of whales and the social consequences.

Whales use various means to navigate in the sea. For example, they make use of these sounds in communicating, when they are in hunt of prey as well as when they are escaping from predators. This is achieved by the capability of locating echo. This helps in identifying prey amongst other objects in the waters. It is also helpful in locating their partners. They lead a unique social life. They communicate by producing pulse calls and clicks. They also communicate through whistling. These communicative methods vary in dialects, which enable them communicate to other animals of their kind (Evans, 2003). This property is different in the different kinds of whale and they may involve different language. The property of whales to use sounds is inhibited by certain factors such as noise pollution.

The noise pollution usually emanates from natural sources. There are also other anthropogenic causes which inhibit the ability of whales to use sounds. These anthropogenic causes include the following sea vessels, seismic surveys, sea telemetry, military sea operation, acoustic tomography and construction which impact sea floors. The categories of natural sources include the biotic and abiotic ones. Those factors which are contributed by non-living organisms belong to the abiotic ones and include disruptions caused by the natural phenomenon, such as earthquakes, wind and waves. The disturbance may also be posed by other living organisms. This forms the biotic factors. The ability of whales to transmit and receive sounds is affected by the human noise. Whales suffer from the psychological distress as it is the case in other living species.

Whales suffer from auditory effects. The hearing sensitivity which is very vital for this species may be temporary affected. Whales become incapacitated upon the permanent loss of hearing. The reason for this is that whales use sounds in search of prey, detection of vessel threats and predators. The natural habitat of whales may be completely destroyed causing their displacement. Vessel threats have been paramount in most of the natural habitats of whales. Hunting whales has been on the rise despite various treaties which try to protect this rare species (Stoett, 1997)

The treaties signed are aimed at the preservation of whales which are endangered. Some of the economic uses of whales is the consumption of their meat as a delicacy. Whale meat has been considered to heal certain health problems. Thus this has become one of the major reasons for hunting whales.

Whales have been seen as a source of imbalance in the sea ecosystem, as they consume considerable amounts of fish as their prey. They are deemed to consume more fish compared to the number consume by humans. This causes imbalance and their continuous protection is predicted to cause harm to the ecosystem. Apart from the consumption by whales, it should also be agreed that most fish species are in jeopardy because of anthropogenic pollution. Whales have economic impact.

Whales have been killed for the humans to gain advantage from their economic value. This has been used as an argument in favor of hunting them. Some people have compared whales with pest or even cockroaches. Whales are an important resource which should be used responsibly. Whales are becoming scarce day after day due to their economic value.

These mammals are mostly hunted by the humans in order to obtain meat and oil. Whaling has been on the
rise with the modern whaling using ships. There were organized navy groups which were created in hunting whales in the wake of 17th century. Whale harvesting is common with different methods being applied. The carrying capacity of whales habitats have been affected with the increased demand for the whale meat and oil. The whale replenishment has been low. This has affected the carrying capacity of some the habitats of whales (Cote, 2006). Commercial whaling has really affected the whale populations.

Whales have much oil which is highly valued. Whale harvesting is done to extract the oil from them. Most people take this oil for health reasons. It is considered to have a medical effect. The oil extracted from whales is processed and packed for commercial purposes. The whale meat is of high quality and many believe they will have health problems for not eating whale meat. The manner in which whales are killed is unethical.

Whales are killed by causing the disturbance to their natural environment. The hearing sensitivity is very important for whales. The human voice coming into contact with whales affect their hearing. This is one of the methods which have been used to trap whales. As whales respond to sounds, sounds have been used as a trap for them.  The permanent hearing loss incapacitates whales. This auditory effect can be caused by the disturbance by both biotic and abiotic factors. The humans use this phenomenon to trap whales. Vessel threats affects whales to a great extended making them to move from their habitants (Wilson, 2001). Traps are then set to track them when they are on their transit. Causing disturbance in order to kill whales is unethical. It is also unethical to take whales out the water since they can not survive outside the water.

In conclusion, whales are mammal species living in the sea. They adopt various mechanisms for their survival in the water. They use sounds for communication. They also use the sense of hearing to dodge from predators. They do so by locating echo. Whaling is done to obtain the whale meat and oil. The oil obtained from whales can be used for commercial purposes. Many think that, there will be health problems due to the lack of the whale meat. Harvesting whales should be done in a sustainable manner.