Orca hunting common dolphins in False Bay, near Cape Town. This photo and others in the sequence from Simon’s Town Boat Company’s Facebook page.
Orca off Cape Town, SA with a distinctive deformity. Photo from Simon’s Town Boat Company’s Facebook page.
Plug plug plug! There’s now a tumblr just for my marine life art. I’ll be posting works in progress as well as sketches, doodles and lots more things that don’t make it into the portfolio. There’s not a lot there at the moment, but there will be regular updates. Reblogs are hugely appreciated! Thank you!
My beluga whale piece has been reprinted and is back in my shop! It measures 16 by 11 inches and would make a fabulous gift for the beluga lover in your life. I have more prints of my original works featuring sharks, dolphins and orcas available too. Thank you for the clicks!
That blubber is some good stuff.
(Source: cetaceansensation)
Keep Belugas Breathing: New oil drilling being proposed in the Arctic, despite dangers
There is no reliable way to clean up oil in the Arctic, and that spells danger for animals like the beluga whale. An oil spill in the Arctic would create a deadly barrier between air and water, causing belugas and other animals to breathe in toxic fumes instead of fresh air.
It only takes a couple of seconds to sign this online petition to help protect the Arctic - and the charismatic beluga whale - from new proposed drilling. Do it!
If you’re looking for a gift for the ocean lover in your life, I have several prints available in my etsy store! There’s still time for me to ship before the holiday; I will be absent from the 17th to the 29th, so be sure to get your order in!
Thank you for looking!
Our Good Friend, the Beluga
Belugas, more often called beluga whales, have round foreheads called melons. They have short rostrums and are usually completely white. However, beluga calves are born gray and don’t usually turn white until they are about five years old.
They grow up to 20 feet long, and have a small ridge on their backs instead of a dorsal fin. This is because they live in arctic regions and often have to swim underneath sea ice. A dorsal fin would make this rather hard for them. Beluga whales are actually not whales, but dolphins. Belugas tend to live in small pods because they are very social. They make several typical dolphin sounds, like clicks and whistles, but can also imitate other noises.
Belugas are found mostly in the Arctic Ocean and in subarctic waters. Belugas migrate to the south when the sea ice gets too thick in winter. They are the natural prey of polar bears and orcas. Belugas feed on fish and crustaceans mostly, but have also been known to eat worms.
Belugas are of the group Delphinoidea, the largest group of toothed whales, in the family Monodontidae. Dolphins are also of the Delphinoidea group, in the family Delphinidae. Dolphins are whales.
The lack of dorsal fin also helps to reduce heat loss; dorsal fins can aid in thermoregulation in cetaceans.
Belugas are awesome!
I liked narwhals before it was trendy.
Surprise! Belugas are completely awesome!
The arrival of a pod of false killer whales scuppered Clark’s plan to observe sperm whales in Dominica. Even though the false killers are only 5.5 to 4.5 metres long compared to the enormous sperm whale, they spooked the sperm whales, which disappeared. To make the most of the special permit he’d organized Clark concentrated on the false killers. ‘They’re normally very cautious,’ he says, ‘and seldom approach divers,’ which is why close-up photos are rare. But these whales found something fascinating about Clark, stopping just a couple of metres away. This time it was Clark who was nervous. Then in the mélange, he saw the dolphin. Scientists have long known bottlenose dolphins sometimes associate with false killer whales, but this is almost certainly the first time the relationship has been photographed.
Incredible. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition never fails to amaze.
Recently I was finally able to make a new print order, and while I’m still waiting on half of it, three new ones are available for purchase on etsy. Hooray!
My wonderful man made me a new gallery viewer, and I added a page explaining my digital process as well as a new banner and colour palette. I’m currently working on a new acrylic painting, but finding time around work is proving rather difficult.
