Using a Japanese pioneered technique to save the whales...

[Stand_watie]

Now I have nothing against whales. I think they're a pretty cool specie. If I were aqua-man, I'd probably have a member of some sort of whale group mammal as my beloved pet (porpoise, beluga whale). I also have nothing against hunting whales as long as the particular type isn't endangered and it's going to good cause.

I just find it terribly ironic that the Japanese, who are almost universally villified for their whale hunting, may have, with their hunting techniques,  provided whale lovers with a good means of saving whales. 


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6672771.stm

...The new technique of banging on pipes was developed by the Japanese and has been used successfully to herd whales, says the Sacramento Bee newspaper...

[MechAg94]

So why did they go up the river?  Maybe that is where they want to be?

[Dixie_Amazon]

I heard one theory that they go into freshwater to get rid of some parasites, but sometimes they get confused and keep going the wrong way.

[doczinn]

Yeah, I thought that was a little ironic, too.