January 3 2009 - Off the coast of Argentina bands of voracious seagulls have been landing on the backs of swimming whales and picking out pieces of flesh to eat. Diving deeper under water to avoid the attacks, the whales are getting tired. Scientists are calling for the seagulls to be culled. Here's the video story from the BBC.

December 29, 2009 - Volunteers working with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary count humpback whales spotted around the islands over a four-hour period and record their behavior. This year the Sanctuary Ocean Count will be conducted at more than 60 different shore sites around Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island. Counts will be held on the last Saturday of January (1/30), February (2/27), and March (3/27) from 8am to 12:15 pm. Online Registration for the islands of Hawaii and Oahu is available at: SanctuaryOceanCount.org. Find out more about the project at: HawaiiHumpbackWhale.noaa.gov.

December 28, 2009 - The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering an expansion of protected habitat for manatees off the coasts of Florida and southern Georgia. With many bases and other installations in those areas the US Navy is worried that expanded protection will limit their ability to conduct operations and training exercises. The Navy says it works hard to protect endangered species but, when it comes to a trade-off between protecting a nuclear armed submarine and a manatee, the sub needs to win. Here's the story from David Fleshler of the LA Times.

December 14, 2009 - When the wind blows hard out of the NW and the temperature drops like a stone it's stranding season on Cape Cod. Turtle strandings begin in mid fall. Dolphins usually follow after Christmas. This year has been an especially bad one for dolphins with 15 strandings in the past week alone. Here's the story from NECN