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Scientists have good news - numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean are the highest they have been in over a century. The University of Washington reports that there are over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska. Hunters killed nearly all of them close to extinction in that area. Whaling became illegal in 1971. Numbers of the world's largest mammal started increasing. It has taken 40 years for the blue whale to recover. Lead researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this good news. He said: "For us, this is a great conservation success story."

Dr Monnahan said the number of blue whales might not rise above 2,200. He said: "Some people thought that number should be going up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin with, then that is what the environment can support." He warned that the creature still needs protection and only survived because people took action to stop catches and start monitoring. He said without this, the whales could be extinct. He added that the rise in numbers shows, "the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation measures".