Researchers captured rare footage of acritically endangered North Atlantic right whalebonding with her calf.
The organization’s footage shows the 41-year-old whale swimming beside her calf, who later dips below their mom to nurse.
It is uncommon to capture a North Atlantic right whale on film because the marine mammals are critically endangered, with only an estimated 340 North Atlantic right whales left in the wild, according tothe Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Of those 340 whales, less than 70 are believed to be reproductively active females. The nonprofit added that North Atlantic right whales are dying faster than they can reproduce.
North Atlantic right whales fall victim to fishing gear entanglements and collisions with boats and ships. While Spindle is still alive, she is not a stranger to the loss that plagues these critically endangered animals.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution shared that Spindle has had ten calves in her lifetime. Unfortunately, one of her calves, a juvenile female, became severely entangled in fishing gear last year. She was last spotted in poor body condition off the coast of North Carolina in January.
North Atlantic right whales are currently migrating from their calving grounds off the southeast coast of North America to their feeding grounds off New England and Canada.
Spindle and her current calf weren’t the only North Atlantic right whale mother and kid duo near Cape Cod recently. According to theCape Cod Times, on April 2, a 27-year-old North Atlantic right whale named Smoke and her fourth calf ended up in the Cape Cod Canal while feeding near other North Atlantic right whales. Once the whales entered the canal, theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cape Cod Canal operations teamclosed the 17.4-mile canal to maritime traffic until the marine mammals passed through.
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To learn more about North Atlantic right whales and how to help these critically endangered creatures, visit theWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s website.
source: people.com
