Humpback Whales Bounce Back Due to Global Conservation

Humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean have recovered swimmingly since the start of worldwide conservation programs in the 1960s and '70s.

That's the finding from a large-scale, collaborative research effort by more than 400 whale experts throughout the Pacific region.

The new research reveals that the overall population of humpbacks has rebounded to nearly 20,000 animals in the Pacific, up from less than 10 percent of that number five decades ago. The mammals are found in all the world's oceans.

Some isolated populations of whales, especially those in the western Pacific, have not rebounded at the same rate and still suffer low numbers.

But at least one study co-author doesn't want that to detract from the largely optimistic findings...