Marine Wildlife

Wayward ribbon seal receives checkup, is found to be healthy

An Arctic ribbon seal rarely seen in Puget Sound has had its southerly sojourn interrupted for a medical checkup that shows the male is in good health.

Satellite tags show ties between Pacific gray whale groups

A research team using satellite tracking technology is causing marine mammal biologists to re-examine what's known of highly endangered western Pacific gray whales.

Rare, tagged western gray whale located near Monterey

Federal Marine Mammals Commission begins Anchorage meeting

The federal Marine Mammal Commission began four days of meetings today in Anchorage.

Predators may block recovery of Alaska sea lions, scientists say

Alaska's endangered Steller sea lion population could have trouble recovering because so many juveniles are being eaten by killer whales and sharks, according to findings of a six-year study published this week.

Feds followed rules with sea lion protections, judge rules

Survey spots fewer Cook Inlet belugas in 2011

The 2011 survey of endangered beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet spotted 20 percent fewer animals but federal officials say it's not an indication of an abrupt population drop.

More on beluga whales

Otter released in Kachemak Bay after month in rehab

A young male sea otter found in November on the pavement of the Kenai Spur Highway has been treated for a bacterial infection that may have disoriented him and released off the Homer Spit, says The Redoubt Reporter.

Sick Alaska seals will be tested for Japanese radiation

Tissue samples from Alaska's sickened ringed seals will be analyzed for evidence of radiation, but a scientist says he doubts there's a connection to the Japanese nuclear plant damaged by a tsunami last year.

Sick seals washing up onshore around the Arctic

Judge takes Alaska's lawsuit over sea lions under advisement

Lawyers for Alaska and the federal government squared off Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the state opposing protection of endangered Steller sea lions through commercial fishing restrictions around the western Aleutian Islands.

Western Aleutian fisheries cut to help Steller sea lions

Deaths of Alaska ringed seals trigger federal investigation

Federal, state and local wildlife scientists don't know what's sickening and killing ringed seals off the coast of Alaska and Canada, but they will get more resources to find out. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today it had declared the seal deaths an "unusual mortality event."

Mysterious disease takes toll on ringed seals in Alaska Arctic

Feds want to delay decision on whether seals threatened

The federal government will delay a decision on listing two northern seals as threatened species because of climate change but will take another look at the status of a third seal it previously rejected.

Federal judge backs listing of Inlet belugas as endangered

For the second time in less than six months, a federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by the Parnell administration challenging an endangered species listing, this time involving Cook Inlet's beluga whales.

More on beluga whales

Alaska officials pan endangered species law

The endangered species law is being used to gain control over landscapes and seascapes rather than to protect species, according to the Alaska wildlife official who works on state responses to federal species listings.

Loss of coast zone program hurts state's beluga whale case

The Parnell administration on Friday officially acknowledged that it had lost a conservation and enforcement tool that it had claimed in court would let it protect Cook Inlet beluga whales without federal interference.

Feeding whales put on show for Ketchikan residents

U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee Mark Hanzlik was one of many Ketchikan residents who were treated to a close look at a group of humpback whales feeding in Tongass Narrows last week.

Seattle hearing focuses on fishing curbs to aid sea lions

A congressional committee held a hearing in Seattle Monday challenging the fishing restrictions federal regulators say are necessary to help Steller sea lions survive in Western Alaska waters.

Third killer whale found dead in river near Dillingham

A third killer whale that swam up the Nushagak River has been found dead.

Photos: Whales in the Nushagak River

Killer whales' wrong turn up river worries biologists

Killer whale that died in Nushagak River was pregnant

Veterinarians said Wednesday that a killer whale that baffled biologists after swimming up a river in Alaska and remaining in the fresh water for weeks until its death had been pregnant with a late-term fetus.

Two whales found dead in Nushagak River

Juvenile killer whale not seen in Alaska river since Saturday

Federal fisheries officials reported Tuesday that there still has been no sightings of a juvenile killer whale last seen swimming in an Alaska river about 285 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Scientists searching for young whale in Nushagak River

By late Monday there had been no sign for two days of a juvenile killer whale last seen swimming in a river in Southwest Alaska, a federal fisheries official said Monday.

Photos: Killer whales in Nushagak River

Young killer whale may still be alive in the Nushagak River

Biologists are still looking for the youngest in a trio of killer whales that swam up Southwest Alaska's Nushagak River, a spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service said Sunday.

Photos: Whales in the Nushagak River

Two whales found dead in Nushagak River

Two of the three killer whales that swam far up Southwest Alaska's Nushagak River appear to have died, according to reports from local residents and a spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Photos: Whales in the Nushagak River