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Wildlife

New app aims to help whales and the people who watch them

  • Sep 28, 2014
  • 276 words
  • 2 minutes
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Prepare to take your whale watching to a whole new level. With the help of an app called Whaleguide, whale enthusiasts can access detailed information on 67 different species of whales and dolphins, and even see which of those species are likely close to you, thanks to a GPS-enabled map. If you want to investigate which whales are in other places around the world, you can do that too by drag-and-dropping the locator pin on the map.

After learning the local species, photographers may be interested in reading the in-app information on diving behaviour, which can help procure a dream photo of these magnificent creatures, which can weigh up to 200 tonnes!

The app (which can be used offline) also features over 50 short video clips and over 450 photos to help you determine exactly what you might have seen or heard from a distant boat or island shoreline.

Ralf Kiefner, who also authored “Whales and Dolphins, Cetacean World Guide”, developed the app and says it was designed to not only entertain and aid but to help conserve the creatures.

In 2008, a report by International Fund for Animal Welfare found North America continued to be the world’s largest whale watching destination, with over 6.2 million whale watchers, providing over 6,000 supported jobs.

Unfortunately, according to World Wildlife Fund, seven out of 13 great whale species are classified as endangered or vulnerable. As few as 300 North Atlantic right whales remain.

The app is available on iTunes and Android’s Play Store.

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