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Article: On the rebound.(whale populations)
- Article from:
- Ecos
- Article date:
- October 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 CSIRO Publishing. 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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Big things are stirring in the Southern Ocean. Indeed, they don't come any bigger than whales. And many observers are delighted that lately these huge marine mammals have been stirring Australian waters more than they have for most of this century. It is now beyond doubt that the local populations of several whale species are staging extraordinary recoveries after being hunted to the verge of extinction.
Southern right whales and humpback whales, for example, are now enjoying baby booms so large and rapid that scientists are for the first time starting to believe that a total recovery of their numbers is possible, and probably within the lifetimes of many people ...