Scientists have seen a significant upswing in the number of pregnant female humpback whales in the Antarctic recently. Blubber samples over a six year period showed approximately 60 percent of females had high progesterone levels, an indication that they were pregnant. The scientists also have seen an increase in the number of calves born in recent years. Both signs are encouraging as humpback whales are at ten percent of their population from pre-whaling years.

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In a newly published study on mantis shrimp, scientists admit “We’re nowhere close” to solving the mystery of their vision systems. In a study published yesterday in The Royal Society, scientists tried to get to the bottom of mantis shrimp vision systems once again by investigating gaze stabilization. Biologist Ilse Daly, with the University of Bristol in Britain, was the lead scientist on the study of peacock mantis shrimps. During the research Daly found the orientation of their eyeballs “doesn’t seem to have any bearing on their perception of space”.

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Hilton, the 12-foot 1,326 pound great white shark that was tagged by Ocearch off Hilton Head, South Carolina in March of last year, just showed up in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the resulting path of the “Twitter famous” shark showed him traveling across the Florida panhandle to reach said location. Followers on social media had a lot to say about the tracking, which has made the shark even more infamous. Scientists believe the relatively small male shark may have moved to the Gulf of Mexico to take advantage of the warmer water and abundant deepwater fish.

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The BBC reports that the Australian Government is to provide Australian $500 million in funding for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

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