(Juneau) — Cook Inlet beluga whale reproduction, survival, foraging, and habitat use will be the focus of two new Alaska Department of Fish and Game-led research projects to identify factors impeding the species’ recovery from a decline that started 20 years ago. The research will be funded by grants received through the NOAA Endangered Species […]
For the first time, we are using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), a hexacopter, to collect photographs of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale to estimate the length of individual whales and learn more about why it has been slow to recover despite many efforts to help it. The Cook Inlet watershed stretches some 50,000 […]
Beluga whales are one of Alaska’s iconic marine mammals. That’s why NOAA Fisheries and partners invite members of the public to participate in conserving the endangered population in Cook Inlet in a new event called “Belugas Count!” —being held Saturday, September 9, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., in the greater Anchorage area. From 9 a.m. […]
NOAA Fisheries, released Thursday, its biennial population estimate for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. Scientists determined that the population size is between 279 and 386 animals, with a most likely estimate of 328 animals. The estimate is derived from data collected during a June 2016 aerial survey. The previous estimate, from 2014, was 340 […]