Scientists are on the lookout for an endangered whale and her calf, which are swimming the wrong way
The coasts off Northeast Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are the only known spots in the ocean where North Atlantic right whales give birth to their calves. After birth, the mother and calf usually swim north to New England.
But a right whale that recently gave birth to a calf is heading in the wrong direction, according to federal marine scientists.
The 12-year-old adult and her baby were first seen off Amelia Island near Jacksonville on Jan. 21. Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are concerned because the pair was next spotted last Wednesday much farther south near the Lake Worth Inlet, just north of West Palm Beach, in South Florida.
“In this case, the pair is heading south, into areas they normally don’t go, making it important for people to be on the lookout for them,” said Allison Garret, spokeswoman with NOAA Fisheries.
NOAA researchers want boaters to look for the mom, whom they are calling Champagne, and her newborn so they can keep track of them. There is a caveat, however.
North Atlantic right whales are one of the most endangered of large whale species, with estimates of fewer than 400 left. Because of this, people, along with boats, drones, paddleboards and kayaks, must remain 500 yards away from them at all times.
Anyone seeing the whales is asked to call NOAA at 1-877-WHALE-HELP, Garret said.
“This will allow NOAA biologists to know where the whales are going and track their movements,” she said.
According to NOAA, the life span of a right whale is up to 70 years old. They can grow to as much as 52 feet long and weigh upwards of 140,000 pounds.
This is the second time in less than a year NOAA scientists were worried about a wayward pair of right whales. Last March, a mother and calf made it all the way around the Florida peninsula to the Panhandle before turning around.
Although they were heading back in the right direction, scientists became increasingly concerned after an angler spotted the pair in the shallow waters of Florida Bay off South Florida.
They eventually found their way north, Garret said.
The be-on-the-lookout for the whales also comes at an exciting time for the large mammals in Florida. Scientists announced last week that a whale found dead in the Gulf of Mexico in Everglades National Park in January 2019 is actually a newly discovered species of Baleen whales, which NOAA researchers have named a Rice whale.
If the Society of Marine Mammalogy Committee on Taxonomy formally accepts the Rice whale as a new species, it would be the 15th species of Baleen whale,
which includes the blue and humpback whales.