Calving has been slow this winter for right whales. Unfortunately, this was feared because of the lack of right whales in the Bay of Fundy in 2012. We had hoped the whales were finding enough food elsewhere, particularly the potential mothers. Mothers require sufficient blubber to nurse the calf following its birth and will not get pregnant unless this is reached.
So far six calves have been photographed with their mothers and there is still about a month and a half left in the calving season so there might be more and some can be missed on the calving area and not seen until they swim to the Cape Cod area or the Bay of Fundy.
With a much colder and an early start to winter, we are hopeful that perhaps the Bay may return to a more "normal" state and the copepod biomass will return. We had thought that perhaps 2013 might be better but it was actually worse.
Each winter several groups survey the calving area for right whales and photograph as many as they can. The Georgia State Wildlife Resource Division has a Flickr site with some of their best photos. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildliferesourcesdivision/sets/72157628191087789/wi
th/11205752344/
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