ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A highly endangered whale typically seen near Russia’s shore is taking a swim across the Bering Sea toward Alaska.
U.S. and Russian researchers are tracking a 13-year-old male western Pacific gray that has made it more than halfway across the Bering Sea.
Bruce Mate of Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute says a tag was placed on the whale last September because little is known of their winter habits.
Eastern Pacific gray whales, also called California gray whales, are a familiar sight feeding in Alaska waters during summer.
Western Pacific gray whales are the second-most threatened species of the large whales and Mate says their population stands at just 130 animals.
