Bush Admin Classifies Beluga Whale As Endangered Despite Palin's Objections

New York Times:

The federal government on Friday placed beluga whales that live in Cook Inlet in Alaska on the endangered species list, rejecting efforts by Gov. Sarah Palin and others against increased protection.

The relatively small, whitish whales, sometimes visible from downtown Anchorage, declined by almost 50 percent in the late 1990s, and federal scientists say they have not rebounded despite a series of protections, including a halt to subsistence hunting by Alaska Natives. About 375 whales have been counted in Cook Inlet each of the last two years, according to scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[lioness39]

Never thought I'd give kudos to GWB but with the Beluga whale and the polar bears, that's exactly what he gets. I am giving it some real thought, and I do believe that Sarah Palin never met an animal she didn't want to k i l l.

[watchingthings]

Maybe she thinks that just because she's not out there hunting these animals, there is no reason to put them on the endangered list.

[obtusegoose]

It just gets easier and easier to dislike this woman. Like a laser beam, her one and only focus is drilling for oil in Alaska. God help you if you stand in her way. To put it in simple terms: she truly is a very bad human being. You'd think of all people, she'd care about "God's creatures". Which also makes her a huge hypocrite.

[PleaseMakeItStop]

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Palin makes Bush seem all warm, snuggly, and caring? I mean, its just sick the way this woman views the non-human creatures on our planet. God help us all, if there is one.

[darthdarcy]

Palin is a menace to society...human and other..!

[JulieSA]

Polar bears eat belugas. Hmmm. what to do, what to do.

[Rockwell]

Damnit! That's so unfair! Sarah's gonna have to cancel her Beluga helicopter hunt this weekend.

Next thing you know they're gonna take away her Naughty Money pumps - the ones made from baby seal skins preserved with the tears of Inuit orphans.

[OlderBudWeiser]

Great move. Whales don't vote so Palin doesn't care. Don't know if anyone noticed but the whale pictured is giving birth. Don't tell Sarah.

[Rockwell]

Giving birth? I thought that was a tailgating dolphin that was entrapped when the Beluga made a sudden stop.

[7tsgirl]

Awwwwwww. Nature is beautiful

[JulieSA]

Yeah, that's a captive whale. Too bad HuffPo doesn't give photo credits, unlike real journalists. It would be interesting to know where that was taken. There are only a few aquariums where that has taken place.

[SadiSays]

Why does Palin have no regard for animals?

[BigSurf]

Let's hope it can save the Beluga.

Palin's political career is about to go extinct.

[kotipup]

Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea
You swim so wild, and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.

Sorry, couldn't resist singing Raffi.

[shaytoonee]

These whales are endangered. Palin does NOT believe in science. She is pathetic. She is not an environmentalist... not even in the slightest bit of common sense. she is an ideologue and this country can't have another ideologue in the White House.

Democrats dont become complacent. U MUST VOTE and get others to vote for OBAMA

[patianneb]

She's also put the Republicans (as they have conducted themselves the past couple of decades) on the endangered list. Not all bad.
Talk about reform a'comin'. You betcha!

[Whinger]

What a pity George W. didn't put the Alaskan Moose and Wolf on the endangered species list too, that would really have made Palin's day!

[AnalyzeIT]

OMG - LOL

OBAMA-BIDEN