Endangered Species Call Attention to Endangered Species

Since I basically own the 'out-of-place critters' beat, I feel obligated to highlight the appearance of two humpback whales in the Sacramento River, not far from the Port of Sacramento. Not your usual humpback habitat, to say the least, but not unprecedented either; in 1985, a humpback dubbed Humphrey spent a month in the Delta before being lured back out to sea with acoustic signals (whale songs) that were employed by rescuers. The National Marine Fisheries Service estimates the number of humpbacks along the Pacific Coast at around 1300, with some 30,000 distributed worldwide. They are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

This Friday, by the by, is Endangered Species Day. Coincidence?