Alaska’s largest one-day marine mammal educational event to celebrate 50th anniversary of Endangered Species Act. NOAA Fisheries and partners invite the public to celebrate the 5th Annual Belugas Count! and the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act on Saturday, September 23. Belugas Count! is a free, family-friendly educational celebration of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. These white […]
New survey estimate and recent trend data suggest the population may be stable and possibly increasing slightly. This month, NOAA Fisheries announced an updated abundance estimate for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Scientists estimated that the population size is between 290 and 386, with a median best estimate of 331. In 2018, scientists estimated that the […]
Scientists hope the new tool will help identify data gaps and the combination of factors that may be impacting the endangered whale population’s recovery. A key challenge for recovering endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales is understanding how the interplay between prey availability and human activities affect the health of individual animals and the overall population. […]
Community science along the shores of Cook Inlet. It Takes a Village The Alaska Beluga Monitoring Program is run by NOAA Fisheries in collaboration with several organizations. It offers opportunities for volunteer citizen scientists to bolster monitoring efforts for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale population. The volunteers collect important data on beluga distribution and […]