Today marks Day 2 of the attempt to rescue a 40-foot gray whale tangled up in a fishing net just off the coast of Orange County. The gray whale was spotted towing 50 to 100 feet of fishing line off the coast of Laguna Beach. more ›

After two separate incidents involving whales tangled in fishing nets over the past week, advocates for our large mammalian friends want to seize the moment and point out that not all whale-net-entanglement stories have such happen endings. more ›

Last week, a pregnant fin whale washed ashore in San Diego. Scientists are using the whale's death as an opportunity to study how a dead whale affects the ecosystem of the ocean floor. more ›

A 15-foot, baby sperm whale that washed ashore in San Diego on Dec. 13 and was sent back to sea with the help of SeaWorld, has been spotted again near the San Clemente Pier laying atop a kelp bed. The baby, separated from its mother, may be dying of starvation needing milk to survive. Experts say a rescue attempt could be difficult because of the weather. No boats or arrangements have yet been made. Anyone who spots the whale can contact the Pacific Marine Mammal Center at (949) 494-3050. more ›

Everybody say "Awwwwww!" This is a good news animal lovin' story out of San Diego, where a sick baby whale has been successful sent back out to sea, according to ABC7. The injured 15- to 18-foot-long, 3000 pound, whale "was rescued by SeaWorld crews from rocks at Torrey Pines State Beach near La Jolla Underwater Park on Sunday," and was treated with antibiotics before being taken back out to sea. A SeaWorld rep reported that the whale "swam away freely on its own," and called the mammal's swimming "a good sign." more ›

The whale, who appeared in Dana Point on Monday looking "listless and lethargic" and left for sea on Wednesday after 150 pounds of commercial fishing nets and ropes were disentangled from her body, returned Thursday and died today, CBS2 is reporting. more ›

The Santa Monica restaurant found to be serving endangered whale meat sushi could find themselves off the proverbial hook, according to an AP report published on cbs2. Federal prosecutors are moving to dismiss the charges against Typhoon Restaurant, Inc., the parent company of the now-closed The Hump, and 45-year-old chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto. more ›

One of the major talking points in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" was that Japan continues to hunt whales--under the auspices of scientific study--with the meat sold across the country. It's still illegal to sell to the U.S. or South Korea, but DNA tests have confirmed that the meat from The Hump, the shuttered Santa Monica restaurant caught serving the meat, was from a scientific catch some three years ago. more ›

Posted to the restaurant's website today, The Hump apologized and admitted guilt for serving endangered Sei whale, which prompted a federal investigation followed up by charges: more ›

Charges from the U.S. Attorney's office against restaurant allegedly serving whale meat are not enough for the international non profit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. more ›

The sushi restaurant at the center of the controversy and investigation over selling whale meat leases its space from the city of Santa Monica, which announced last night that it will also investigate accusations that came to light yesterday. The Hump leases space from the city for its airport location and the contract includes termination if illegal activity is proved. The news came after Heal the Bay's Mark Gold e-mailed the City Council urging them to take action. He also notes that his brother, the famous Pulitizer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold, calls the place “gimmicky and weird." Jonathan explains that “restaurants resort to gimmicks generally because their chefs just aren’t very good,” more ›

That whale that drew hundreds to Marina Del Rey left Friday, presumably headed to its summer home in Alaska. Accompanied by about 50 bottlenose dolphins, the young 25-foot gray whale headed out of the marina's shallow waters after spending three weeks there. The whale had become quite a spectacle for people, even some paddled out to touch it, which is against the law. LAist posted a video and photos of the whale earlier this month. more ›

LAist Featued Photos contributor Jonathan Alcorn took some amazing shots of the gray whale hanging out in Marina del Rey this week. The young whale, about 20 feet in length, has been hanging around drawing crowds because, hey, it's not just everyday that you get to see a whale so easily from shore. Yesterday, another contributor shared a couple videos with us. more ›

Here's that baby gray whale we mentioned earlier this week. He's been hanging out in Marina Del Rey, showing off bits of his 20-foot long body when he surfaces, creating quite a spectacle for locals and tourists. more ›

Earlier this month, a photograph by a UC Santa Barbara graduate student showed what may have been a very exciting discovery on Santa Cruz Island off the coasts of Ventura and Santa Barbara: a complete tusk of a prehistoric pygmy mammoth. more ›

The shark attack near Catalina Island this past weekend is the 148 confirmed shark attacks along the Pacific Coast since 1900, according to the OC Register's Beach Blog. They say most have been investigation attacks and not predatory. “The shark was not interested at all in eating her, otherwise it would have stayed in the area and eaten her," explained Shark expert Ralph Collier. Over the weekend, a woman kayaking off Catalina was flung into the air when a shark bumped into her vessel. She landed on top of the shark, but swam to shore safely. more ›

A woman kayaking off the coast of Catalina Island had a close encounter with a shark this weekend. "I couldn't believe it and all of a sudden when I seen the fin I realized this is not a whale -- this is a shark," she told KCAL9. "By the time I thought that ... the shark was already cruising under me and lifting the kayak up with its body, and I landed out of the kayak right onto the shark's body." The shark reportedly swam away as the woman began to safely swim towards shore.
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