Right whale mom “Tripelago” was spotted the day after Christmas seven miles east of Jekyll Island, in Georgia with her new calf. (New England Aquarium)
BOSTON — Some baby news from the New England Aquarium.
Right whale mom “Tripelago” was spotted the day after Christmas, seven miles east of Jekyll Island in Georgia, with her new calf.
Tripelago is 26-years-old. Researchers says she has been seen every year since she was born, with the exception of 2014.
The aquarium says that at the start of winter, pregnant North Atlantic right whales head to warmer Southeastern waters to give birth. December through March, is known as calving season.
Nine right whale calves have now been born this season.
“With an estimated 336 whales left, researchers at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life are working diligently to learn more about and protect this species, from right whale biologists conducting research via boats and planes to working in the laboratory to study their health and hormones,” the aquarium said in an updated statement.
ACCOL’s Right Whale Research Team tracks the age of whales, the birth of calves, and event like vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements in a catalog.
You can take a look at all of the recent sightings by clicking on New England Aquarium’s website.
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ZanyWayney on December 29th, 2021 at 15:51 UTC »
As another poster below pointed out. These whales will swim straight up to boats because they are so curious and friendly. That is sadly why they are colloquially called the "right" whale: they were the "right whales" to hunt, because they pretty much killed themselves for the whalers. Very sad. They went from being one of the most prominent and prevalent whales, to being hunted to the brink of extinction.
IDontReadMyMail on December 29th, 2021 at 14:11 UTC »
To put this in perspective, in “good” calf years there are over 20 calves, and “bad” years have less than 10. We are only halfway through calving season (Dec-Jan) so this is shaping up to be a pretty good year, hopefully.
Saraieth on December 29th, 2021 at 13:01 UTC »
Left calfs have sadly gone extinct