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Article: Humpback comeback? (Hawaiian whale sanctuary and politics)
- Article from:
- Sunset
- Article date:
- November 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Sunset Publishing Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The endangered species' Hawaiian sanctuary is imperiled by politics. But for now, whale-watchers on Maui can still spot the singing cetacean
The months from November to May are a critical season for the North Pacific population of Megaptera novaeangliae, the endangered humpback whale. It's when they migrate from their feeding grounds in Alaska to breed in the warm waters of Hawaii. It's when calves are born, and when female humpbacks entertain the attentions of 40-ton "escorts" who battle each other for "primary" position. It's the season when male humpbacks not occupied courting mates suspend themselves head down, with their long, graceful pectoral fins spread, to ...