90-Foot Blue Whale Descends On White House To Demand End To Ship Strikes

There were more than just protesters calling for action to save imperiled whales -- a 90-foot, life-size inflatable whale made an appearance outside the White House as part of a campaign to ask President Obama to take action to save whales.

Here's the whale from another event:

The protest, spearheaded by the Great Whale Conservancy, includes a delivery of 120,000 signatures. The petition urges the Navy support an alternate shipping lane in California waters to reduce the killing of blue whales from ship strikes. Ship strikes are a huge problem for blue whales, and it's largely unclear why -- though many researchers speculate that shipping noise may have something to do with it because it confuses whales.

Whale advocates say that in California, where many ship strikes occur, an alternate shipping route could reduce the number of strikes on blue whales by 80-90 percent -- but the Navy currently objects to this route. Activists are calling on the Navy to remove this objection -- and save hundreds of whales.

Here's the whale this year: