{"id":38134,"date":"2024-04-25T20:07:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T18:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7714acea-c9ff-4c7e-9e02-41017a0c0d85"},"modified":"2024-04-25T20:35:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T18:35:42","slug":"spellbinding-footage-captures-critically-endangered-whale-with-her-baby-off-the-new-england-coast","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/spellbinding-footage-captures-critically-endangered-whale-with-her-baby-off-the-new-england-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Spellbinding footage captures critically endangered whale with her baby off the New England coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are around 360 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet, so every calf is precious. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 18:07 PM<\/p>

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Stunning new footage of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale swimming with her new calf in Cape Cod Bay, USA, has been released by\u00a0Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)<\/a>.<\/p>

The mother \u2013 a 37-year-old female called Wolf \u2013 was first seen with her baby off the coast of Florida in December of 2023. They are one of five mother-and-calf pairs seen off New England this spring.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cIt was exciting to see this new mom and her calf during our field work in Cape Cod Bay,\u201d says Michael Moore, senior scientist at WHOI.<\/p>

Scientists capture rare footage of a North Atlantic right whale mother and her calf in Cape Cod Bay, New England. Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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What are North Atlantic right whales?<\/h2>
North Atlantic right whales grow up to 18.5 metres long and weigh as much as 106,000kg. <\/p>
Their huge heads make up a third of their total body length and, unlike many other whale<\/a> species, they have no dorsal fin. <\/p>
It\u2019s possible to visually identify individuals by looking at the pattern of white bumps \u2013 called callosities \u2013 that grow on their heads like calluses.\u00a0<\/p>
What do North Atlantic right whales eat?<\/h2>
Right whales are a type of baleen whale, which means they feed on plankton. According to the charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation<\/a>\u00a0(WDC), \u201ctheir favourite types [of plankton] are large copepods which are about the size of a grain of rice.\u201d <\/p>
As they swim along, they open their mouths and gobble up copepods, krill<\/a> and small invertebrates. \u201cThe baleen plates in their mouths strain prey from seawater like a giant sieve,\u201d says WDC.<\/p>
North Atlantic right whales feed on plankton, such as copepods. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
How many North Atlantic right whales are there? <\/h2>
The youngster seen in Cape Cod Bay is one of 19 North Atlantic right whale babies born in the 2023-24 calving season and Wolf\u2019s fourth known offspring. Of those 19 babies, one has sadly died after becoming entangled in fishing gear and four others are believed to have been fatally injured: two were involved in boat collisions and two have gone missing.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cThis year alone, the U.S. East Coast has become a graveyard for North Atlantic\u00a0right\u00a0whales,\u201d says\u00a0 Julia Singer<\/a>, a marine scientist at\u00a0 Oceana<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>
These deaths are hugely troubling for this already threatened population. There was once around\u00a0 21,000<\/a>\u00a0right whales on the planet but, as a result of whaling (whalers’ preference for the species was even mentioned in the novel\u00a0 Moby Dick<\/a>), this number has fallen to just a few hundred.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cThere are approximately 360 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet, and fewer than 70 reproductively active females,\u201d says Moore. \u201cEvery North Atlantic right whale is vital to the species\u2019 recovery.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cThere are approximately 360 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet”<\/p><\/blockquote>
Why are they struggling?<\/h2>
One reason North Atlantic right whales are struggling is their distribution. They\u2019ve been given the nickname \u2018the\u00a0urban whale\u2019 because the areas of ocean they call home \u2013 close to shore between Florida and Atlantic Canada \u2013 coincides with lots of human activity. This means they\u2019re more likely to come into contact with fishing gear or vessels that could harm them.\u00a0<\/p>
Despite protections, these animals are dying more quickly than they can reproduce. \u201cAfter\u00a0right\u00a0whales were nearly wiped out by centuries of whaling, today their dwindling populations are still threatened by vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and climate change,\u201d explains Matt Collis, Deputy Vice President \u2013 Policy at\u00a0 the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).<\/a><\/p>
A recent\u00a0 study<\/a>\u00a0also showed that right whales are getting smaller, which reduces their ability to successfully reproduce. \u201cThese whales rely on stored energy resources (in the form of lipids) to support the costs of reproduction,\u201d\u00a0says study author\u00a0 Enrico Pirotta<\/a>, an ecologist at University of St Andrews. A smaller female can store less energy, which could impact her ability to breed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Cape$
North Atlantic right whales have been given the nickname \u2018the\u00a0urban whale\u2019 because the areas of ocean they inhabit are often busy with human activity, such as Cape Cod Bay. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
What’s being done to help them?<\/h2>
Environmentalists are exploring several different ways of protecting North Atlantic right whales. Speed restrictions are currently in place for vessels over 65 feet (19.8 metres) but NOAA Fisheries wants these to be enforced for vessels over 35 feet (just over 10 metres) because\u00a0 smaller boats<\/a>\u00a0have also hit and killed calves.<\/p>
There are also new innovations in fishing technologies, such as\u00a0 ropeless<\/a>\u00a0fishing gear which prevents entanglement by only releasing its buoy line when the fishers need to retrieve their catch, reducing the likelihood of whale entanglement.\u00a0<\/p>
More protections can\u2019t come soon enough, says Singer: \u201cFor one of the most endangered large whales on the planet, every single North Atlantic\u00a0right\u00a0whale\u00a0calf is vital to avoid extinction.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
More marine stories:<\/strong><\/p>
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Venomous lionfish are invading the Mediterranean Sea. The rise of these deadly predators has scientists worried<\/a><\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n
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What are North Atlantic right whales?<\/h2>North Atlantic right whales grow up to 18.5 metres long and weigh as much as 106,000kg. <\/p>