Latest Whales News
Photographs capture humpback whale's Seattle visit, breaching in waters in front of Space Needle
Seattle (AP) — Pictures released by a conservation group show a young humpback whale breaching in front of the Space Needle as it visited the waters off Seattle last week, capturing a rare display of wildlife next to a major city. The photos were also used to gauge the general...
Young humpback whale leaps out of Seattle bay, dazzling onlookers
SEATTLE (AP) — A humpback whale visiting the waters off Seattle dazzled onlookers Thursday morning with several breaches in the bay just beyond the city's downtown area. The whale has been spotted for the last three days swimming around Elliott Bay. But on Thursday, the whale...
Search is on for pipeline leak after as much as 1.1 million gallons of oil sullies Gulf of Mexico
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As much as 1.1 million gallons of oil may have been discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from a pipeline system off Louisiana's southeast coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday. The affected pipeline has been shut down but authorities were still trying to...
Lease of Gulf waters delayed by whale protection debate must continue, court rules
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An auction of federal Gulf of Mexico leases for oil and gas drilling must be held in 37 days, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, rejecting environmentalists' arguments against the sale and throwing out plans by the Biden administration to scale back the sale to protect an...
Endangered sperm whales now have their first protected area in the Caribbean island of Dominica
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world’s first marine protected area for one of earth’s largest animals: the endangered sperm whale. Nearly 300 square miles (800 square kilometers) of royal blue waters on the western side of the...
Sale of federal oil and gas leases in Gulf of Mexico off again pending hearings on whale protections
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An upcoming sale of federal Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases was officially postponed Thursday amid legal fights over protections for an endangered species of whale. A federal appellate panel last week paused a separate appeals panel's order that the sale be...
In Seattle, phones ding. Killer whales could be close
SEATTLE (AP) — Peter Bates was dropping his car at the mechanic this month when a notification pinged on his phone: killer whales were approaching his Seattle neighborhood. He hopped on a bus toward the water, then an electric bike. He was pedaling along a shoreline trail when...
Senate energy panel leaders from both parties press for Gulf oil lease sale to go on, despite ruling
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. Senate’s energy committee are pressing President Joe Biden’s administration to forge ahead with a sale of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases Nov. 8, even though a court order that it do so has been paused. The...
Four tracts of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are designated for wind power development
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday designated four tracts of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas and Louisiana coasts for development of wind energy. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announcement follows the first Gulf sale of leases for wind...
Gulf oil lease sale postponed by court amid litigation over endangered whale protections
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A sale of federal Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases that had been scheduled for Nov. 8 was delayed Thursday by a federal appeals court, pending court arguments that focus on protections for an endangered whale species. The Biden administration announced the sale...
