World Whale and Dolphin Day is celebrated annually on July 23 .

This holiday was established in 1986, when the ban on whaling, introduced on July 23, 1982 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), came into effect after 200 years of merciless extermination of whales. The ban is still in effect today and means that whale hunting and trade in whale meat are prohibited worldwide.

However, whaling is not the only threat to these animals. Another major factor in the disappearance of whales, dolphins and other marine mammals is their capture for dolphinariums, oceanariums and circuses.

In addition, a serious threat to marine mammals is the garbage that people pollute the seas and oceans with in abundance: plastic, glass, metal, fishing gear, etc. Animals get entangled in garbage, get injured, or accidentally eat garbage and damage their digestive organs.

Therefore, today is considered a day of protection not only for whales, but for all marine mammals.

Every year on this day, various conservation groups and organizations hold events and demonstrations in defense of whales and other marine mammals. Often, environmentalists unite and dedicate this day to the protection of one unique species that is in mortal danger or extinction.

This day has a special significance for Russia, since several dozen species of whales, dolphins and seals live in the seas of the Russian Federation. Many of them are endangered and are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It is noteworthy that July 23 is not the only date; many countries establish national whale days. For example, Australia, starting in 2008, decided to celebrate National Whale Day on the first Saturday in June, and in America, World Whale Day is traditionally celebrated during the summer solstice – June 21 .

It should be noted that there is another date for holding World Whale and Dolphin Day events – in February, when World Marine Mammal Day (Whale Day) is celebrated .

^{Today is considered a day of protection not only for whales, but for all marine mammals (Photo: izanbar, licensed from depositphotos.com )}

For information
The seas and oceans of the Earth were inhabited by marine mammals long before the appearance of people. Findings of paleontologists confirm the existence of whales and seals 26 million years ago. Cetaceans (Cetacea) are a group of aquatic mammals that include whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Killer whales are called the largest carnivorous dolphins, they can swim at speeds of up to 50 km/h. These black and white beauties can have from 40 to 60 teeth, with the length of the teeth being about 13 cm, which allows them to easily hunt and eat other smaller sea creatures.

Dolphins are marine mammals that belong to the toothed whale suborder. There are 47 species in the world. Dolphins live in schools and are very friendly creatures. There are known cases when dolphins saved drowning people.

Belugas are the only representatives of cetaceans that are able to express emotions using facial expressions. With age, the color of their skin changes. Belugas are born dark blue, become gray-blue and gray as the year goes by, individuals older than 3-5 years are pure white (hence the name). The maximum body length of a beluga is up to 6 meters. The largest males weigh up to 2 tons, females – up to 1.5 tons.

The blue whale is the largest creature on Earth, its length can reach 35 meters, and its weight is 200 tons. Whales have given a lot to people: whalebone and spermaceti, whale oil and bone meal. And recently, doctors have become seriously interested in studying whales. The whale is a wonderful symbol of life in the sea, large and powerful, but at the same time very defenseless. And it is important to remember this..

https://www.calend.ru/holidays/0/0/2366/

Machine Translated by Google