Western Grey Whale Conservation Plan, via International Union for Conservation of Nature: “The critically endangered western gray whale population, numbering only about 130 animals in 2008, remains on the edge of survival. Although recent data point to a slow increase, the additional death of just one mature female per year could send the population towards extinction. While much attention has centred on potential impacts associated with oil and gas activities in and near the population’s primary feeding grounds off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, the survival and recovery of western gray whales depends on prompt and effective conservation action throughout their range.”