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Wildlife: Sign of the Whale
Recent sightings of humpback whales farther north than usual have some environmental groups pondering whether this is good news or bad: Is the population recovering and expanding its territory, or is this yet another sign of how global warming is throwing creatures out of whack?
Last summer oil industry workers reported spotting endangered humpback whales in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's northern coast—more than 300 miles beyond their usual range. Last year, they were spotted in the Chukchi Sea, just west of the Beaufort.
Some believe it's possible that the sightings could mean the population is recovering and expanding its range. But others think it could be a sign the whales are desperately searching for food. In either case, the whales could be in jeopardy now that the U.S. Department of Interior began moving forward with the sale of 30 million acres of oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea in February, when nearly three million acres were auctioned.
Federal permits issued in 2007 allow offshore petroleum
drilling
companies the right to disturb marine mammals—specifically bow-head
whales, bearded seas, gray whales and ringed seals—which were expected to be
encountered during seismic operations. It's unlikely that the unexpected
presence of humpbacks—endangered species or not—will stop the activity.
Sadly, this means the whale species has yet another "hump" to get over if it is to survive.
