Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpback whales have made a dramatic comeback in the North Pacific Ocean over the past four decades, a new study says.

He’s accused of whale-teeth deals on the black market.

From the earliest days of exploration, mariners in Chile’s cool southern waters marveled at the abundance of whales. A Jesuit naturalist wrote of the sea “boiling” with their spouting.

Among 19th century Nantucket boatmen, the island of Mocha was notorious as the stamping grounds of “Mocha Dick,” an ill-tempered sperm whale bedecked with harpoons.

Rescue workers saved one of two whales stranded on a New Zealand beach but were forced to shoot the other after efforts to guide it back to sea failed, a conservation official said Friday.

Researchers working in Hawai’i waters have reported the first confirmed evidence that humpback whale calves produce sounds. The purpose of the grunts and squeals recorded by the Cetos Research Organization has not been deciphered, but they could be alarm calls…

The white killer whale spotted in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands sent researchers and the ship’s crew scrambling for their cameras. The nearly mythic creature was real after all.

MA’ALAEA, HI — A record number of whales were sighted during the 2008 Great Whale Count on Maui on Saturday, February 23, which recorded a total of 1,726 whale sightings in a three-hour period. Perfect weather conditions for whalewatching and a growing whale population are thought to be the reasons for the unprecedented number of humpback whale sightings.

Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James R. “Duke” Aiona Jr. have signed a proclamation declaring February as “Humpback Whale Awareness Month” in Hawai’i, according to a news release. The goal of Humpback Whale Awareness Month is to enhance public awareness of Hawai’i’s official state marine mammal and increase public involvement in ocean stewardship.

February in Hawaii: It’s the best time to see burly NFL players on Oahu, thanks to the annual Pro Bowl. But even bigger stars can be seen all over the islands, or at least off their shores: the humpback whales.

Its widely believed the orcas are expanding their range because depleted Pacific Northwest stocks of salmon can no longer sustain them.