--- title: Humpback Whales May No Longer Be Endangered description: The NOAA proposed removing most of the world's humpback whale population from the endangered species list. canonical: https://time.com/3829391/humpback-whales-not-endangered/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T12:01:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:21.704Z article:section: Science og:title: Humpback Whales May No Longer Be Endangered og:description: They've been on the endangered species list since 1970 og:url: https://time.com/3829391/humpback-whales-not-endangered/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb139ccc7307df59c/6987ec010b72e323366e1968/humpback-whale.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Whale Breaching og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Humpback Whales May No Longer Be Endangered twitter:description: They've been on the endangered species list since 1970 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb139ccc7307df59c/6987ec010b72e323366e1968/humpback-whale.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Humpback Whales May No Longer Be Endangered ## Video: Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life [Watch (HLS stream): Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8) (4:03)  _Published 2014-03-12. Conservationists and scientists have a saying, "extinction is forever." But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to "DE-extinction is forever."_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 21, 2015 12:01 PM UTC  In this July 9, 2014 photo, an adult humpback whale breaches in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Alaska. In this July 9, 2014 photo, an adult humpback whale breaches in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Alaska.Michael Penn—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 21, 2015 12:01 PM UTC Most humpback whales may no longer be endangered. On Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [proposed](http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/20150420-successful-conservation-efforts-recognized-in-revised-esa-humpback-whale-listing.html) removing more than two-thirds of the world’s humpback whale population from the endangered species list. Humpback whales were first classified as in need of protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1970\. The NOAA’s proposal would remove 10 of the 14 recognized whale populations from the endangered species list, while two would be listed as endangered and the remaining two would be classified as threatened. “The return of the iconic humpback whale is an ESA success story,” Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, said in the [NOAA release](http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/20150420-successful-conservation-efforts-recognized-in-revised-esa-humpback-whale-listing.html). “As we learn more about the species—and realize the populations are largely independent of each other—managing them separately allows us to focus protection on the animals that need it the most.” The last time NOAA removed a species from the endangered list due its recovery was in 1994, when it took off a population of gray whales, the [Associated Press reports](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FHUMPBACK%5FWHALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-04-20-14-17-41). 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