- One of just four North Atlantic right whale calves spotted off the southeast coast of the United States so far this winter was discovered last week to have suffered deep propeller wounds to both sides of its head.
- The injured calf was photographed by an aerial survey team about 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) off the coast of the state of Georgia while swimming with its mother on January 8. The two S-shaped gashes observed by the survey team were most likely caused by the propeller of a boat, but humans will probably not be able to intervene and help the calf.
- The North Atlantic right whale population has been on the decline since 2010, due almost entirely to the impacts of human activities, especially collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear.
One of just four North Atlantic right whale calves spotted off the southeast coast of the United States so far this winter was discovered last week to have suffered deep propeller wounds to both sides of its head.
Barb Zoodsma of the National Marine Fisheries Service told the Associated Press that the injured calf was photographed by an aerial survey team about 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) off the coast of the state of Georgia while swimming with its mother on January 8. The survey team didn’t notice the calf’s injuries until later, when the photograph was viewed at full size.
The two S-shaped gashes observed by the survey team were most likely caused by the propeller of a boat, but humans will probably not be able to intervene and help the calf. “[I]t’s highly unlikely that we can fix this animal,” Zoodsma said.
The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Centuries of commercial hunting nearly wiped the whales out, but their numbers grew at an annual rate of 2.8% between 1990 and 2010, when the population peaked at about 480 individuals. Since 2010, however, the population has been on the decline once again, due almost entirely to the impacts of human activities, especially collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear. The North Atlantic right whale birth rate is believed to be dropping, as well, which has meant that deaths have outpaced births in recent years. It is estimated that around 450 North Atlantic right whales still survive today.
Every winter, North Atlantic right whales migrate from their feeding grounds in the Labrador Sea off the east coast of Canada to their calving grounds in the relatively warm waters off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, a journey through an area with heavy shipping traffic. 2017 was a particularly deadly year for the whales, with 17 documented deaths — or nearly 4% of the entire population. There were no newborns observed during the 2017-2018 calving season.
Three right whale calves were spotted off the coast of Florida by mid-January during the 2018-2019 calving season. Ultimately, seven calves were recorded last winter, but at least 10 right whales were found dead in 2019.
North Atlantic right whales are one of three right whale species, including the North Pacific right whale and the Southern right whale. Last year, recordings of North Pacific right whales singing were published — the first time any right whale species has ever been known to break into song. Jessica Crance, a marine biologist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), appeared on the Mongabay Newscast in June 2019 to play the recordings she and her team had made of the whales’ songs. You can listen to them here:
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