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Peter Corkeron

@petercorkeron.bsky.social

2K followers 350 following 520 posts

Marine ecologist & conservationist US government whistleblower, hence underemployed Adjunct at Griffith University Been known to do stuff on dolphins and whales My views are invariably mine My site: aduncus.net

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Nov 19

For those who came in late...*
I did a podcast a while back on some of my experiences.

Includes, in no particular order:
Being bashed
Shutting down a Russian spy op
Lifesaving
NOAA whistleblowing
How Tangalooma really started*

*Enough #straya folks now for these to make sense?
🐳🌍🦑

Marine Mammal Science: MMS 31: The Trials And Tribulations Of A Marine Mammal Science Career With Dr. Peter Corkeron

This week, Chris Parsons’ guest is Dr. Peter Corkeron - the first Australian to get a PhD on the biology of living cetaceans - in a slightly different type of episode in light of the&nb...

marinemammalscience.libsyn.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 21h

Though to be fair the translocation one didn't have US *military* intel folks involved.

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Knowing that you are is why I mentioned it
If you read the linked articles of mine you will get the story of one of them
The other is the translocation that is now subject of a law suit

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Given what’s happened with some elephant “conservation” projects that had US military intelligence people involved this is really quite disturbing

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Should have added - article by @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social and Noah Robertson www.washingtonpost.com/people/noah-... who doesn't seem to be here.

Funny they didn't speak to anyone with a track record on the US IC misappropriating conservation issues

Noah Robertson

Noah Robertson joined the Washington Post in 2025, where he covers the core national security committees in Congress. He previously covered the Pentagon and American politics from gun control to polic...

www.washingtonpost.com

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Maybe some of the real conservation NGOs will start to pay attention to this problem now. After years of trying to raise this I'm not holding my breath.

In case anyone reads this, and knows people in the big cat conservation world, please feel free to pass it on.
end 🧵

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

One in the refereed literature -
Open Access so free to read
6/n

The militarization of conservation: a different perspective

Is the increased use in wildlife conservation of techniques derived from military and security services appropriate? One aspect of this issue that remains poorly considered is whether all actors...

www.int-res.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

My articles, again
One for general readership -
5/n

When the War on Terror Met Conservation | Common Dreams

“Project tenBoma” a program of the International Fund for Animal Welfare that ran from 2015 to 2020, exemplified how military intelligence operations found their way into anti-poaching efforts.

www.commondreams.org

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

I tried to get Deutsche Welle @corporate.dw.com to correct their piece in which they describe one person's military career in the past tense, after she'd returned to US SOCAFRICA.
They chose not to.

4/n

Kenya's animal detectives – DW – 09/12/2018

Africa's elephants are on the road to extinction. Faye Cuevas founded the tenBonma project to secure their future by stopping poachers before they kill the animals. And that involves a lot of detectiv...

www.dw.com

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

When these "conservation projects" start up, we can expect to see puff pieces in the press about the program leaders - e.g.

Faye Cuevas Is Protecting Elephants Using Counterterrorism Techniques

Approaching the problem from a military standpoint made sense for Cuevas.

www.vice.com

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Version of the article without the WaPo paywall -
2/n

Trump’s new foreign aid plan eyes $50mn for Greenland’s polar bears, $25mn for Nepal's snow leopards

The Trump administration is considering whether to spend up to $50 million in foreign aid to protect polar bears in Greenland and $25 million for snow...

thepeninsulaqatar.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting development - $50 million for "polar bear conservation" in Greenland.

My articles about how some conservation NGO projects are not what they seem -
www.int-res.com/abstracts/es...
www.commondreams.org/opinion/war-...
show how this will play out
🌍
1/n 🧵

Trump’s new foreign aid plan eyes $50 million for Greenland’s polar bears

Documents reviewed by The Post show the administration may spend millions to protect vulnerable wildlife, proposals that stunned critics of its moves to gut foreign assistance.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 4d

Another great paper on baleen whales & calving
🐳🌍🦑🧪

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 17d

New! Longer body size means more female calves in baleen whales! By Zoe Rand, Sarah Converse and myself

Paper: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Press:
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms

University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading...

www.washington.edu

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 4d

Great paper led by Martin van Aswegen from @lbejder1971.bsky.social's lab - @meps-ir.bsky.social

Age-specific body length, mass, and energetic cost of growth in humpback whales
"... lactating females, who must support one-third of their offspring’s lifetime growth costs in just 1 yr."
🐳🌍🦑🧪

www.int-res.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 10d

For some light relief -
Whale oil is a cure-all better than snake oil!

"Mice treated with whale oil developed thicker, denser hair follicles"
plus
People reported "sharper focus, greater resistance to fatigue, and improved sleep quality"
"even slow the aging process"
#whaling
🐳🌍🦑

Could Whale Oil Improve Hair Growth, Focus, and Strength? | JAPAN Forward

Researchers in Tokyo say whale oil and meat, long seen as cultural staples, may deliver improved focus, strength, and anti-aging benefits.

japan-forward.com

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 11d

Yep

There are so many humpbacks migrating off east Oz now that it's not a conservation problem.
But it's an animal welfare issue - entanglements are horrendously cruel and we wouldn't stand for them happening to terrestrial mammals.
And it's a workplace safety issue for disentanglement teams.

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 11d

"Why the netting program has been so effective is unknown."

When initially established, the netting programme resulted in a massive kill of sharks. Dramatically reduced shark abundance likely led to reduced fatalities.

Ocean pools were created as another safe option

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 11d

Great piece in @australia.theguardian.com by @petrastock.bsky.social on all the entanglements in shark nets off Queensland this year. Sensible commentary from @robharcourt.bsky.social and @jessicabolin.bsky.social

The only way to stop entanglement, really, is to take the nets out: Rob Harcourt
🐳🌍🦑🧪

Twelve whales have been tangled in shark nets off Queensland’s coast so far this year. Here’s why

In the worst case, entanglements could cause drowning, one expert says, but whales can also suffer long-term effects from the nets

www.theguardian.com

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · 22d

Tasking satellites to get imagery of remote oceanic areas isn’t cheap

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 29

Yes it should. Well spotted - my mistake
🥴
I see you noticed my later apology for the mixup. Shame there's no way to edit such things, but by the time I noticed my mistake, so many people had re-posted or liked that I felt I had to leave it as-is.

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

Oops! Eastern Pacific gray whales.

Apologies

I'm used to thinking of the western ones as the conservation problem
😕

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

And an Open Letter of Concern from 3 renowned biologists who work on gray whales

The full letter is clear on the importance of climate on their feeding ecology, e.g.:
"This decline is apparently the result of ecosystem scale
changes brought about by Global Climate Change"
3/3

Concern for the Future of Gray Whales | Gray Whale Research in Mexico

graywhaleresearchmexico.org

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

Based on 2 #NOAA recent reports
NOAA press release linking to the two reports:
"The environment may now be changing at a pace or in ways that is testing the time-honored ability of the population to rapidly rebound while it adjusts to a new ecological regime."

No mention of #climatechange
2/3

Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales Continue Decline After Downturn During Unusual Mortality Event

Continued low calf count indicates that reproduction remains depressed.

www.fisheries.noaa.gov

Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

Meanwhile, in conservation reality and #whales -

A good article by Sue Arnold in Independent Australia on the population crash of Western Pacific gray whales.

"The latest estimate of 13,000 animals is less than half of the 27,000 population ten years ago."
🐳🌍🦑🧪
1/3

Gray whale population crashes amid climate-driven starvation

Once considered a conservation success story, the Eastern Pacific gray whale is now vanishing — a stark warning of climate chaos in motion.

independentaustralia.net

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 27

I led the whale research at @noaa.gov NEFSC 2011-2019. Driven out during the last Trump admin.

Been saying for ages that anyone who claims they care about #rightwhales off the NE US & obsesses about offshore wind but never mention entanglements - is either a fool or a liar.

Junior? Both

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Peter Corkeron @petercorkeron.bsky.social · Aug 26

PS
Rumour was that Williams was a bad bugger - to use Don Walker's term

Don Walker - Harry Was A Bad Bugger (Live)

YouTube video by Don Walker