The Gulf of California was once known as “the aquarium of the world.” But on a recent whale watching trip—and in an era where climate change is making its mark—our writer wonders if it still delivers.

During the close encounter last week, on May 5, the fin whale gave a “friendly mugging,” the term used by naturalists to describe moments when whales voluntarily approach vessels.

A dead humpback whale who washed ashore in Newport Beach earlier this week was washed back out to sea with the rising tides Thursday night. On Friday morning, scientists located the whale and were able to attach a tracking tag to it. Sophia Felger of the ...

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Nicknamed Timmy by German media, the whale was ...

They are big. They are beautiful. And they are back. The return of the humpback whale to greater numbers than observed in decades is part of a larger revival of marine mammals in the Salish Sea. It is an astonishing sight of life rebounding,

PUGET SOUND, Wash. — The first of many Sounder gray whales returning to Puget Sound was seen in the Salish Sea earlier this week. The whale’s appearance marks the continuance of a recent trend of early arrivals for the North Puget Sound Gray Whales or ...

A group of surfers were surprised – and scared – when a pod of orcas showed up at a remote wave on an Alaskan Island in the Bering Sea. Luckily, no attacks occurred.

Hundreds descended on a quiet beach for what would likely be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing. Then the realities of a giant rotting whale carcass began to sink in.