Important Facts For Prelims
Killing of White-Sided Dolphins: Faroe Islands
- 17 Sep 2021
- 1 min read
Why in News
Recently, the traditional annual killing of whales and dolphins (grindadrap” hunt) in North Atlantic islands that belong to Denmark has sparked controversy.
- 1,428 white-sided dolphins were slaughtered at Faroe Islands.
Key Points
- White-Sided Dolphins:
- Scientific Name: Lagenorhynchus acutus
- Characteristics:
- Their common name comes from the prominent white stripes on their sides, which span from below the dorsal fin to their tail, where it turns into a yellow or amber color.
- Their scientific name comes from the Greek word lagenos (which means bottle), rhynchus (which means snout or nose), and acutus from Latin (which means sharp or pointed, referring to their sharply-pointed dorsal fins).
- Habitat:
- The distribution of the Atlantic white-sided dolphin is the cool temperate and subarctic waters of the north Atlantic Ocean from southern Greenland to Massachusetts, and from the British Isles to western Norway.
- It has also been reported as far as the southern Barents Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Azores, and the Adriatic Sea.
- Conservation Status:
- Dolphins in Indian Waters:
