Great Right Whale Photos - Slow calving Season

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/

Wart's family grows

Naevus, Wart's calf born in 1990, was seen with a new born calf, less than three days old, on December 20 off Sapelo Island, Georgia.  This is the fifth calf of Naevus, the other calves born in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011.  Her calving interval is very regular and the minimum for right whale females, every three years.  The pregnancy is a year, nursing is a year and there is a year to recover the weight lost during the nursing period which can be an incredible 10 tons.  Shorter calving intervals only occur when a calf is lost shortly after birth and the intensive nursing period does not occur.

A news article about the birth can be found in the Savannah Morning News:  http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-12-24/seasons-first-whale-calf-sighted-sapelo-island#.UrxAomx3u70.  Two photos of mom and calf are also included: http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-12-24/seasons-first-whale-calf-sighted-sapelo-island# and http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-12-24/seasons-first-whale-calf-sighted-sapelo-island#.

This brings Wart's family to seven calves, twelve grand-calves and four great grand-calves, with all generations still reproducing.  Wart had her seventh calf this past season.

Fingers crossed that more calves are to come.

First Calf of 2013 Calving Season

A recreational boater off Hilton Head, SC, reported the first right whale mother and calf for this calving season on November 27, 2012.  While most right whale females have their calves off the coast of Georgia and Florida, winter surveys extend up to North Carolina to cover the range of normal occurrence of right whale females and their calves.

Right whale male, Gemini, diving in the Bay of Fundy September 17, 2011

Of course, we are hopeful for more calves than in 2012 when only seven calves were born with one female loosing her calf, but we shall have to wait and see.  There were certainly more right whales in the Bay of Fundy in 2011 than in 2010, which may bode well.  A year of low food resources for a female would be reflected not the next calving season but the one following, for example 2010 lack of sightings of right whales in the Bay of Fundy and the 2012 low number of calves.  Females need to have a certain amount of blubber to ensure they can nurse their calf for a full year, without that blubber, they will not get pregnant.

In early December, a small group of right whales have been spotted off Jeffrey's Ledge in the Gulf of Maine and spurred a notice for large vessels in those waters to slow down to 10 knots.  This area in the Gulf of Maine is suspected to be a breeding area for right whales.  The calving area is not a breeding area for right whales, unlike humpback and grey whales.

Right whale surface active group in the Bay of Fundy August 24, 2011

Keeping our fingers crossed for more calves.  The season extends from December to March.