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California Blue Whales On The Rebound, Study Says

California Blue Whales On The Rebound, Study Says
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Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit ARUN RATH, HOST: So we've covered death and destruction around the world, domestic violence at home, but stay with us - we have some good news to report. Blue whales once considered threatened with extinction are now doing very well off the coast of California. That's according to a recent study out of the University of Washington co-authored by Trevor Branch. TREVOR BRANCH: What we found was that although whaling knocked them down to fairly low levels, now they've rebounded and they're back at close to their original abundance. RATH: California blue whales range all the way from Alaska to Costa Rica, but they were devastated by whaling. Now according to the study they're back to 97 percent of their historic levels - about 2,200 whales. The findings were based a complex computer analysis that factored in previous and current populations and potential threats. They also had to figure out how to distinguish the California blue whale population from
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