MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti) - The World Wildlife Fund called on people around the world on Thursday to sign a petition to try and save the last surviving gray whales threatened with extinction as a result of oil and gas projects in Russia's Far East.

Environmentalists believe the oil and gas projects on Sakhalin Island being run by Exxon, Shell, Gazprom, BP and Rosneft, as well as Japan's controversial whale hunting program under the aegis of scientific research, are to blame for the decimation of the species.

"The WWF hopes that by moving the save the whale campaign onto the international stage we will force oil companies to change their environmental policy," said the WWF Russia program coordinator for the oil and gas sector, Alexei Knizhnikov.

The organization is also demanding that oil companies stop their drilling activity in areas bordering a planned federal nature reserve aimed at protecting the endangered whales.

The WWF has around 5 million supporters.

Environmentalists have estimated that there are just 130 Okhotsk-Korean gray whales left. The species is classified as critically endangered.

Further details of the campaign can be found on the WWF Russia website.