New school club starts fundraising to preserve whales
Out in the middle of the ocean, a problem is brewing underneath the waters. A monumental amount of whales are either close to extinction, endangered, or close to endangerment. However, this problem has come onto Caleb Singleton’s radar, and is doing something about it. In response to this tragedy, he has started up a club called Whale Society.
Singleton created the Whale Society earlier this year in an effort to try and save some of the whales that are on the brink of extinction. Blue whales, for example, are the largest mammals on the Earth, but because of whaling, the hunting of whales, their numbers have dropped from a pre-whaling population of 240,000 to anywhere from 8,000-14,000 now, according to the American Cetacean Society.
The blue whale is just one type of whale that is being driven to the end, as the humpback, sperm, and fin whale are a few more species of whale that are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
“There are a lot of whale species that are soon going to be extinct,” Singleton said. “There are fewer than 300 North-Arctic whales left in the earth, for instance. The purpose of Whale Society is to raise awareness for the decrease of the whale population.”
Another goal is to help the oceans in general by keeping them clean and trash-free.
“[Littering causes the trash to] go down into storm drains and into the ocean. The fish eat it and it’s not good for any of the animals in the ocean,” Singleton said.
Singleton first become interested in whales this summer when he witnessed the migration of whales while he was in Morro Bay.
[blockquote author=”Caleb Singleton, President of Whale Society” pull=”pullright”]
There are fewer than 300 North-Arctic whales left in the earth, for instance. The purpose of whale club is to raise awareness for the decrease of the whale population”
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“All the whales were [migrating] through and just kind of chilling in the area. It got me thinking about how it’s crazy how there are these giant animals we don’t even think about that much in the ocean,” Singleton said. “They’re a big part of the ecosystem and food chain in the ocean.”
Singleton isn’t the only part of this operation though; sophomore Christina Trombley and freshman Faith Covington are key components to the club as well.
Trombley is the Vice President of the club and is the co-founder along with Singleton.
“We both had an interest in whales and it’s [Caleb’s] favorite animal and we just decided that we wanted to save them and help [the whales] out,” said Trombley. “The first thing we wanted to do was get t-shirts and that kind of kickstarted the whole thing.”
Covington is the CEO and Head of Marketing for the club, meaning she is in charge of advertising. “We made an Instagram and a Facebook so we’ve been advertising over the internet,” Covington said.
Along with the advertising and t-shirts, a major plan the club currently has is to adopt a whale.
“Right now we’re trying to raise money to adopt a whale [through adopt-us.whales.org],” Covington said. “The website gives a bunch of information [on the whales] and allows you to pick what kind of whale you want, you can name it, and you get paperwork for it,” Trombley added. The cost is 50 dollars a year, and the club has settled on the name “Shaya Baleen.”
Overall, the goal of Whale Society is to simply raise awareness about the subject. Another student, Freshman Geneva Putnam, wanted to simply support her friend. “I just wanted to support [Caleb] and the whales.” Putnam said.
“We want to help get more people interested in saving the whales. Just to get [people] more educated and informed about the whales,” Trombley said.
“We don’t want them to die,” Singleton said. “Natural death for them is sad but ok, but we want to prevent people from killing them for fun. Whales don’t come and shoot us with harpoons. In short, our goal is to save the whales”.
Whale Society is currently without an advisor and a room to meet in, but are looking for a new home.
