Whale Watching

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ People boating and fishing along the South Carolina coast should be on the lookout for company. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service says calving season has begun for the North Atlantic right while. That means the endangered creatures are making their way south from New England to the warm waters off South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Every winter, pregnant right whales come to the southern waters to give birth and nurse their young. The whales are among the most endangered marine mammals in the world, with only about 360 left. The fisheries service is asking boaters to report sightings of the whales, so scientists can keep track of their progress. But boaters should also keep a distance of at least 500 yards from the protected species.