Eight years ago, when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) paid US$2 million for two ships to count blue whales off Chile’s coast, the observers spotted just 45 of the world’s largest mammal over a period of one and a half months. But when the expedition had ended and some of the scientists were riding a ferry boat up the Patagonian coast to catch a plane from the Chilean coastal city of Puerto Montt, they came across a startling sight. In the span of just four hours, they saw more than 60 blue whales (balaenoptera musculus) while crossing the Gulf of Corcovado east of Chiloé Island. One of the scientists, Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete, vowed to return to conduct an extensive study of the area. By... [Log in to read more]