New Hope for Chile's Whales

Two great pieces of news for whale lovers -- and anyone who wants the kind of oceans that can support a growing population of whales.

First, new sightings of humpback whales off the Chilean coast are the latest and best sign of a comeback for a population that was hunted virtually to extinction. The Los Angeles Times has not only a report, but fantastic video of a humpback feeding (surrounded at one point by what looks like leaping sea lions).

Second, Chile is poised to declare its entire coastline a whale sanctuary -- perhaps by June, when it hosts the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Establishing the sanctuary would make permanent a ban on whaling that now extends through 2025.

Bárbara Galletti, president of the Cetacean Conservation Center in Santiago -- which is working with Chilean officials to establish the sanctuary, told the Santiago Times, "This is about creating a country where there is respect, deep respect. Respect for our heritage, for our waters, and for life itself. And that’s what should be unilaterally declared, that our country offers a sanctuary to the whales.”

Costa Rica and Mexico have also created sanctuaries and conservation groups are working to establish a protected zone covering all of Latin America’s Pacific coastal waters. All these efforts are being pressed in conjunction with the IWC meeting in Santiago.

The Chilean organization Ecooceanos estimates that nearly half of the world’s whale species, including endangered blue whales, pass through Chilean waters on a regular basis.