The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica has created the world’s first marine protected area for the endangered sperm whale. Sperm whale is one of earth’s largest animals.
Key points
- Nearly 300 square miles (800 square kilometers) of royal blue waters on the western side of the island nation that serve as key nursing and feeding grounds will be designated as a reserve.
- Scientists say the reserve not only will protect the animals, but it will also help fight climate change.
- Sperm whales defecate near the surface because they shut down non-vital functions when they dive to depths of up to 10,000 feet.
- As a result, nutrient-rich poop remains along the ocean surface and creates plankton blooms, which capture carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and drag it to the ocean floor when they die.
- It is said that sperm whales in Dominica are believed to defecate more than whales elsewhere.
- Sperm whales are a matrilineal society, with young males leaving and switching oceans at some point in their lives. As a result, protecting the species is key, especially if few female calves are born.
