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Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

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Case Study: Near Extinction of the BlueWhale: Big Species are Easy to KillCommercial whaling almost drove the blue whale toextinction <strong>and</strong> it may never recover.The biologically endangered blue whale (Figure 13-8)is the world’s largest animal. Fully grown, it is longerthan three train boxcars <strong>and</strong> weighs more than 25 elephants.The adult has a heart the size of a VolkswagenAtlanticwhite-sideddolphinHarborporpoiseCommondolphinKillerwhaleBelugawhaleBottlenosedolphinFalse killerwhaleCuvier'sbeakedwhalePilotwhaleNarwhalPygmyspermwhaleSpermwhaleSquidBaird'sbeakedwhale05 10152025 30m0 10 20 3040 50607080 90 100ftOdontocetes (Toothed Whales)Figure 13-8 Natural capital: examples of cetaceans, which can be classified as either toothed whales orbaleen whales.260 CHAPTER 13 Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity

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