Story and Photo Courtesy of Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) 
Washington DC

Canada Seals Rally - An Eyewitness Account

Photo By: Mike McFarland

Story By: Tanya Mulford

The three men look quite put out as they stand in a group on the steps alongside the large, modern, very civilized-looking Canadian Embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. They're not angry, exactly, just irritated. That means that at least some of the protesters have arrived, I think.

In five minutes, the rally against the Canadian seal hunt is scheduled to start on the sidewalk in front of the embassy, and as I come up alongside the building, it at first looks disappointingly as if there are more security, diplomatic employees, secret service agents, and park police than protesters standing in the humid haze on this early November morning. But then I round the corner.

That's when I see about 40 people already gathered from local animal groups. They're holding signs, putting on anti-seal-hunt T-shirts, and handing out pamphlets and postcards (to be delivered to Canada's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Kergin) to the trickle of people hitting the sidewalk on their way to lunch. (Incidentally, Dr. John Grandy, The HSUS's senior vice president for Wildlife Programs, delivered a letter that morning to the ambassador outlining exactly our concerns in case he or any embassy staff member wished to respond.)

Andrea Cimino, the organizer of the campaign, is stepping into a seal costume, courtesy of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). I see a man with a camera and a woman with a large microphone. "They're from Canadian broadcasting," someone tells me. "The Canadians are really touchy about U.S. criticism of the seal hunt."

Then the megaphones come out. Two activists, one from The HSUS and one from the Fund for Animals, are leading the growing group in chants: "Canada's seal hunt - Canada's shame," they start.

The protesters stand at the curb and wave their signs at the passing cars, some of which honk in response. People walking by stop to sign the postcards. Generally, they take a brochure or two. One activist tells me, "A lot of people are asking to take the postcards with them, and they want to read more. It's like the whole hunt is news to them."

Tucked under a tree to the side of the embassy, a television screen plays footage of seals, still conscious, being dragged by sealers on hooks across the ice. The filming took place during last year's hunt, a hunt that the Canadian government swears was performed humanely according to official regulations.

A middle-aged woman asks me for a T-shirt and a few brochures. "I want to tell my friends about this. They just don't know this still goes on. We all thought it was over," she says and moves a few steps on to watch the protesters—now about 60 strong—chant.

I can still see the men on the steps of the embassy (they won't move once throughout the rally, as it turns out), but I see only one person walk out the door. She's a media relations staff member, Erica Fensom, who discusses the possibility that someone from the embassy might respond to our concerns. "We would welcome that," Grandy tells her.

Law and Disorder:

An officer of the U.S. Park Police is telling Grandy the permit for the seal rally is no good. Both men are smiling for the Canadian journalists' camera. Apparently the District of Columbia had no business signing off on a permit for the rally.

"They can tell you it's all right to hold your rally in the street, but not on this property here," says the officer, nodding his head in the general direction of the sidewalk, a small park, and the embassy.

"And what do I need to do?" asks Grandy.

"Go home, apply for a permit from the Park Service, and when it's approved, come back."

"Well, we will do that next time," nods Grandy, "but since we're already here..." He smiles again.

"And you're not leaving today, are you?" the Park Police officer asks before heading back to his car, which is parked near a couple of other U.S. Park Police cars and a few motorcycles. Most of the officers, including some embassy security men, are wearing sunglasses and looking a little annoyed. Every once in a while, a pair of the motorcycles will rev up, rumble loudly along the road, then come back to roost. They seem to be making a point.

Story and Photo Courtesy of CNN.com Science and Nature
Wednesday, November 19, 2003 Posted: 1:39 PM EST (1839 GMT)


New Whale Species May Have Been Found

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Japanese scientists say they have identified a new species of whale -- a remarkable discovery if confirmed. The animal is a type of baleen, the family of whales that strain tiny plankton and other food from seawater, the researchers say.

"Can you imagine? An animal of more than 10 meters was unknown to us even in the 21st century," said Tadasu Yamada of Tokyo's National Science Museum, the senior author of the study that appears in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

Most baleens grow to enormous proportions, like the blue whale, which at 75 feet (22.5 meters) long and more than 100 tons is believed to be the largest animal that has ever lived.

By comparison, the new species is on the small side at about 30 feet (9 meters) long -- about the size of a motor home -- and slender.

While new species of smaller creatures such as insects, birds and amphibians are discovered every year, it is very unusual for scientists to identify a new mammal, particularly one so large.

Most whale species were described during the 18th and 19th centuries when commercial whaling drove many to the brink of extinction.

Scientists currently recognize 70 whale species, including as many as 12 types of baleen whales. But little is known about the subtle differences among many types of whales that are seldom seen by humans.

The Japanese researchers made their discovery through DNA analysis of nine adult whale carcasses. Eight -- five females and three males -- were killed in 1970 for research in the eastern Indian Ocean and the Solomon Sea.

At the time, scientists assumed they were undersized fin whales. A ninth whale -- a female -- was killed accidentally in the Sea of Japan in 1998.

Fisherman towed it to Tsunoshima Island, where Yamada examined it. Later, he began comparing it to preserved samples of the eight whales in his nation's fisheries research collection. The anatomical and molecular comparison took several years to complete.

Nearly every whale carcass raises new possibilities. It could take additional studies over several years before other biologists accept the new whale species.

According to the Nature study, the new species shows several differences from fin whales, including external features, bone structure and DNA. The researchers named the new species Balaenoptera omurai in honor of the late Japanese whale researcher, Dr. Hideo Omura.

Besides being smaller than fin whales, the new species has fewer baleen plates in its mouth, Yamada says. Baleen is a hornlike substance that forms filaments that hang down from the roof of the mouth to strain food from seawater.

DNA analysis performed on samples from three of the whales showed they differ from fin whales by five nucleotides, or base pairs of amino acids, in sections of the whale genome used for comparison.

Caution about claim:

Some U.S. researchers are skeptical of the Nature report.

James Mead, curator of marine mammals at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, said there are at least seven other whale species that share the same traits, and a more careful comparison is needed before a new species is accepted.

"I am disappointed in the lack of thorough comparison with other species of allied whales," Mead said.

Harvard whale researcher Joe Roman said the evidence for classifying them as a new species was "compelling and certainly warrants further study."

Researchers on both sides of the Pacific said the questions surrounding the nine whales demonstrates how little is known about them. They condemned whale-hunting, even for scientific purposes.

In 1986, the International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan, however, takes hundreds of whales a year under a scientific exemption, usually selling them for food and other products after they are studied.

Norway has ignored the ban since 1993 and resumed commercial hunting, while Iceland resumed scientific whaling this year.

Yamada said the new species is a small population, which should be studied more carefully before countries decide to harvest the whales for research.

Roman agreed, saying, "research whaling could actually endanger this exciting discovery."

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