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The southern right whale is a huge fortress of animal—50 feet and 60 tons of muscle and blubber. At its size, this giant should have nothing to fear from ocean predators, except possibly for killer whales. But in the waters around Argentina, southern rights have been so badly tormented by an unusual threat that they have been forced to take stealthy precautions.
Their nemesis is the kelp gull.
Kelp gulls, like most of their kind, are opportunists. They’ll pluck fish from the sea, and scraps from landfill sites. And those near Peninsula Valdes in Argentina have started stripping flesh from the backs of whales.
Thousands of southern rights gather in those waters to breed between June and December. As they come up for air, the gulls land on their backs and tear off chunks of skin and blubber, leaving 20-centimetre long wounds. As many as eight birds can target one unfortunate whale.
As I reported two years ago, scientists first documented these attacks in 1972. They were rare then, but have been getting steadily worse. By 2008, some 77 percent...
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