That was my recollection.
From Google it appears that Americans had some help in the extermination of the Atlantic population of the Gray Whale. (The
Pacific Gray Whale is a different story—they're still around).
Quote:
"...Gray whales were hunted commercially for their meat and oil by European, Japanese, and North American whalers, especially in the 17th and 18th century.
"Relentlessly hunted for their meat and oil, Atlantic gray whales became extinct in the 18th century. The eastern North Pacific population also plummeted, but have since made a dramatic comeback..."
http://www.vanaqua.org/education/aqu...raywhales.html
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Some "sub-fossil" remains suggest that Atlantic and Pacific Gray Whales are the same whale species. I'll research later to see if the two populations are indistinguishable species.
Like the dinosaurs, no blame can be placed on any living American for this population's extinction.
