So far, no serious effort to kill a whale has even been made, despite favourable weather and the presence of whales in the waters near the Makahs' village.

ECONOMIST: To catch a whale

The species' name comes from the fact that it was considered the "right whale" to kill during the whaling era.

CNN: Endangered right whales appear to be on the rebound

Giant squids are infamously bad listeners, and the whale just wants to kill the squid!

NPR: latest news

Two drops of the concoction would be enough to kill a person, said Jamison Smith, NOAA's large whale disentanglement coordinator.

CNN: Endangered right whales appear to be on the rebound

The government is therefore interested in discovering more about the beasts, so as not to kill the shark that lays the golden egg (though one recent finding is that whale sharks, unlike many of their relatives, actually give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs).

ECONOMIST: Whale sharks

Jackie Hildering of the Marine Education and Research Society, a guest naturalist on board, explained that the baleen whale was trying to intimidate the orcas to avoid being attacked, since Biggs orcas kill humpbacks.

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