Whales stage a comeback

last updated 8 January 2015

San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico

Mexico’s gray whale population has rebounded from near extinction. Gabriel Arturo Zaragoza, who heads the government’s whale census, said he recently counted 800 babies in or near San Ignacio Lagoon, in the Baja Peninsula, where the whales migrate every winter. The 40-foot, 30-ton grays were hunted relentlessly in the early 20th century for their blubber and meat. By 1970, there were fewer than 2,000 left. But as whale hunting fell out of favor and whale watching became a lucrative industry, the number of grays boomed to 18,000 in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Alaska. “These gentle creatures are back,” Zaragoza told The Washington Post.