ANCHORAGE — A large decline in wolves inside one of Alaska’s national preserves is coinciding with a state-sanctioned program to kill the animals near the boundaries of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, a National Park Service official said Friday.

Federal biologists discovered a more than 50 percent decline, the highest on record, by comparing the number of wolves spotted in aerial surveys done last fall and this spring in a 2.5 million-acre conservation area in the preserve along the Canadian border.

A baby humpback whale that was found floundering in shallow waters off Hawaii’s Kawaikui Beach Park died after becoming separated from its mother.

When the whale was spotted by a fisherman on Monday afternoon, it was thrashing around in very shallow waters inside a reef. The animal was weak with numerous cuts and abrasions and perhaps even a shark bite, said David Schofield, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine mammal health and response program manager.

ANCHORAGE — Two people were injured Thursday in a fire that broke out in a three-story apartment building, causing extensive damage and displacing more than two dozen people who took shelter in a nearby church, a fire official said.

When Anchorage firefighters arrived at the 24-unit Calais Arms apartments, the third floor and roof were fully engulfed in flames, said fire department spokesman Al Tamagni. The mid-town building was evacuated and so were surrounding apartment buildings because of fears that the flames could spread, he said.

ANCHORAGE — Dennis Preslan’s gut told him something wasn’t right when he saw an older-style suitcase sitting atop garbage in a trash bin.

He tugged at the case, fearing what might be inside.

“My curiosity got the best of me,” he said. “I unzipped the bag just a little bit.”

His heart pounded and he jumped back when he saw an eye looking back at him and a small black nose.

“It scared the heck out of me,” Preslan said.