Species Recovery, Gray Whale

“The gray whale's range formerly included the coasts of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Atlantic population had been hunted to extinction by the 1700s and in the early 1900s it seemed that the two Pacific populations (eastern and western) would follow. However, in the 1940s the species became protected by international agreement, and today the eastern Pacific population has recovered so much that it is no longer considered endangered (although it is still protected). Population estimates indicate that there are more than 20,000 gray whales in the eastern Pacific, approximately equal to estimates of the historic population. The eastern Pacific population of gray whales was removed from the endangered species list in 1995, but the western Pacific (Korean) population, which has not recovered at all, remains listed. The status of the western Pacific population is relatively unknown, but it is believed to be highly endangered and close to extinction.”