More than 100 endangered finless porpoises have been found along South Korea’s western coast.
 
The Korea National Park Service said on Monday that some 100 finless porpoises have been observed in waters near the Taean National Park.
 
The endangered species were found while the park service was conducting a regular ecosystem observation to monitor the effects of the country’s worst oil spill in 2007, which was caused by a collision between a barge and an oil tanker.
 
The mammals are listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and are protected worldwide, although South Korea has not classified them as being endangered.
 
The park service said that the recent sightings show the mammals are using the Taean National Park as their habitat and the marine ecosystem in the area appears to have recovered.