Vanishing whale’s decline worse than previously thought, feds say

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A review of the status of a vanishing species of whale found that the animal’s population is in worse shape than previously thought. The North Atlantic right whale numbers less than 350, and it has been declining in population for several years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released new data recently that 114 of the whales have been documented as dead, seriously injured or sub-lethally injured or sick since the start of the whale’s recent decline. That is an increase of 16 whales since the previous estimate released earlier this year.