"Blue Whales of California Are Back To Historical Levels, Study Finds"

"Good news, whale lovers: A new analysis suggests that there are as many blue whales living off the coast of California as there were before humans started hunting them to near extinction 110 years ago.

Today, there are roughly 2,200 blue whales who range from Mexico in the south to Alaska in the north. In the 1930s, that number was closer to 750.

'For us, this is a great conservation success story,' said Cole Monnahan, a doctoral student in ecology and resource management at the University of Washington. 'We caught way too many whales from this population, but when we left them alone, they recovered.'"

Deborah Netburn report for the Los Angeles Times September 5, 2014.

SEE ALSO:

"California Blue Whales Recover From Whaling, Study Finds" (AP)

"U.S. Pacific Blue Whales Seen Rebounding Close To Historic Levels" (NPR)