The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Made Whales Happier

Australian scientists conducted research and studied the hormonal background of whales over the past few years. It turned out that the stress hormone cortisol in marine mammals increased significantly compared to the levels in 2021 when people stayed at home during COVID. According to the scientist, there are two reasons for this. The first is the acute hearing of whales. They are sensitive to noise, using it for communication and navigation. The sounds produced by commercial vessels interfered with marine mammals. During COVID, there were fewer ships, making it more comfortable for whales to communicate and move around. The second reason is that during the period of movement restrictions, the levels of pollutants in the water also decreased.