ADD FALSE KILLER WHALES TO ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST

Hawaii%u2019s near-shore population of false killer whales has plummeted in recent decades. Today, only about 150 whales remain. Tell the Obama Administration that you support endangered species protection for these imperiled whalesI urge you to add Hawaii's insular false killer whales to the U.S. endangered species list.

As you know, these whales represent an ecologically unique population of animals whose residence around the Hawaiian Islands leaves them acutely vulnerable to harm. The best available evidence indicates that the population has declined significantly over the last 25 years and that only about 150 individual whales remain.

These whales face a number of serious potential threats to their survival, including: injury and death from unregulated fishing practices, depletion of their prey and exposure to toxic chemicals. For these reasons and many others, the Biological Review Team concluded last fall that the population stands "at a high risk of extinction" unless action is taken, and NMFS has proposed listing the whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

If this remarkable population is to have any chance at survival, it needs the protections, planning and recovery efforts that only an Endangered Species listing can provide. Please add Hawaii's false killer whale population to the endangered species list.