Some good news for a change…
MELINKA, Chile (17 Mar 2008) — Three scientists stand on a hillside on the remote island of Melinka in Southern Chile. In the distance, across the shimmering waters of the Gulf of Corcovado, are the majestic snow-capped peaks of the Andes mountains.
All three are peering through high-powered binoculars, scanning the horizon methodically.
Suddenly, biologist Yacquiline Montecinos spots a spray of water piercing the horizon, six miles or so off shore.
“There … whale. Blue whale,” she says excitedly. Montecinos has seen hundreds of these spouts, but she still gets excited when she finds one.
And why not? She is part of a team researching a previously unknown population of blue whales, the biggest mammal on the planet, bigger than the biggest dinosaur. They can be up to 100 feet long and 100 tons.
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