Wart and Calf

Wart, #1140, and her calf were resighted during an aerial survey in mid April, again in the Cape Cod area.  While it was very exciting to know about Wart and her new calf being seen in January in Cape Cod Bay, many worried about the calf but the calf seems to be fine, growing and as far as is known, has never been to the calving area in the southeast US.

Right whale occurrence has been unusual this winter with few whales in the calving area, other than calving females, and few right whales in the Cape Cod area from January through March.  In late March, right whales suddenly appeared in large numbers in the Cape Cod area.  This continues the unpredictable distribution of last summer.

We look forward to see what will happen in the Bay of Fundy this summer with 20 new calves, some of which will come to the Bay with their mothers.

Wart and her new calf seen in January off Cape Cod. 
Allison Henry/NEFSC under Center for Coastal Studies NOAA permit #14603

Check out the New England Aquarium's blog with links to newspaper articles about Wart and her newest calf: http://news.neaq.org/2013/05/right-whale-sighting-wart-and-her-baby.html

Wart #1140 Resighted

Wart, #1140, one of our adoptive whales, was reported entangled March 6, 2008. Rope entered and exited from her mouth. She was seen several times in March in Cape Cod Bay and then not again until February 25, 2009, still entangled and again in Cape Cod Bay. On January 24, 2010, she was seen again still entangled but this time further north in the Gulf of Maine in Jordon's Basin, a winter habitat that has been surveyed primarily by plane for the last several years and may be one of the mating areas for right whales. There were other right whales in the area but she was observed alone and probably feeding because of the long dive times.

Calving areas are separate from other activities and usually only a small proportion of the population attend (pregnant females, juveniles and a few non-pregnant adult whales) and are found from North Carolina to Florida along this coast.

The Center for Coastal Studies entanglement website has described the entanglement which continues to change orientation but persists with line coming out of the mouth. It does not appear life threatening but a continuing irritation to the whale. Disentangling right whales is not an easy task. Right whales seldom slow their swimming and show active avoidance and resistance to approaching disentanglers. Wart will continue to be monitored.

Right whales in November

Many years some right whales remain off Grand Manan and the Bay of Fundy well into November and sometimes into December. In late January of this year, three right whales were seen off Point LePreau, above Grand Manan. However, this year, only two right whales have been seen since October 20.

Where have they gone? Three juvenile whales were seen off North Carolina on November 8 but the largest numbers have been seen off Cashes Ledge, Jeffrey's Ledge and Jordan Basin in the lower Gulf of Maine. Most sightings of right whales in the winter in the Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod area are from aerial surveys, either through the National Marine Fisheries Service or the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA. Winter conditions in areas where right whales might be located are often severe and beyond workable conditions for small boats so aerial surveys are used and can cover a much wider area. Details of right whale sightings in the Gulf of Maine to Long Island, NY from the North East Right Whale Sighting Advisory System can be viewed at: http://rwhalesightings.nefsc.noaa.gov/

Another unique method of locating right whales is through listening posts or buoys located on or near the ocean floor. Checking the website as I write, two buoys have picked up right whale calls along the shipping lane for the port of Boston within the last 24 hours: http://www.listenforwhales.org/. If you would like to hear some right whale calls, click on the "Explore Whale Sounds" tab.

Winter aerial surveys of the calving areas from North Carolina to Florida will begin in a couple of weeks and will continue to March. Hopefully it will be another good year for right whale mothers and calves.