Just Finished Reading: Spying on Whales – The Past, Present and Future of the World’s Largest Animals by Nick Pyenson (FP: 2018) [256pp] 

Whales are strange creatures, which is probably one reason why they fascinate us so much. For one thing they’re the largest mammals on the planet – by far – and are, indeed, the largest animals to have ever lived, including the dinosaurs. Another thing that often surprises is that they were once (much smaller!) land mammals before they returned to the world's oceans around 50 million years ago. In the first section of this intriguing and often fascinating work the author, who is a Palaeontologist, looks at how evolution has shaped whales for their environment, including reasons for their gigantic size in several species as well as the development of the baleen system of feeding, echolocation especially in dolphins and, of course, how whales ‘sing’. 

The second section looks at present day whales – those who through luck or for other reasons escaped the cull of the last few centuries and who have started to recover in numbers (some more than others). Much is made of, as you can imagine, the problems of pollution, global warming – and how it impacts things such as food supply, ocean currents and so on. Likewise, the drop in species diversity – caused by so many being taken out of the picture by hunting – is recognised as a problem going forward. 

The last section looks at the future of whales. Although recovery is underway, it's not entirely certain that some species of whales will survive much longer. Two in particular might already be extinct (actually somewhat difficult to prove conclusively) or be close to it. Even those apparently in more favourable circumstances may not be out of the woods yet. Their environment is changing, and quickly, due to our influence. Not only is the chemical nature of the oceans changing – with chemical run-off, plastics and the gradual acidification of sea water – but global warming is threatening both krill populations (a primary food source of the baleen whales) and their breeding grounds. Their survival is not guaranteed. 

As you might imagine, this was a much more scientific book than my previous read and I probably enjoyed it more because of that. I certainly learnt a lot about the life cycle of whales and how they fit into the oceanic ecosystems. I learnt quite a bit about Orcas (killer whales) too, much of which was completely new to me – which I really liked! This is a must read for anyone interested in these mammoths of the sea and will give you both insights and plenty to mull over. Definitely recommended. 

Special mention of the impressive line drawings throughout by Alex Boersma.