Italy's Pelagos Sanctuary whale surge coincides with park leadership voids

Summer 2026 has brought a record number of cetacean sightings to the Pelagos Sanctuary, a marine protected area spanning Italy's Liguria, Monaco and France's Corsica. Researchers from the Tethys Institute documented about 130 encounters in the past two months, including common bottlenose whales, orcas, rare Cuvier's beaked whales and the well‑known orca "Canon", attributing the boom to unusually favorable marine conditions.

At the same time, two of Italy's national parks in Puglia – the Alta Murgia and Gargano parks – remain without appointed presidents after a parliamentary commission rejected the proposed candidates in July. Both parks are currently overseen by interim commissioners. The parks have been hit by extensive wildfires this summer, with thousands of hectares burned; investigators suspect arson in the Alta Murgia fire, which has caused severe damage to local agriculture and livestock.