Animal lovers mourn the loss of a baby whale from a critically endangered species.
On Monday, NOAA Fisheries confirmed the death of a young North Atlantic right whale. According to the agency, NOAA Fisheries was notified of the death of the baby whale a day earlier.
NOAA Fisheries, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Florida Fish and Conservation Commission worked together to identify a dead whale that was found stranded on Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore.
“We have identified the whale as the injured right whale calf #1612 ‘Juno’ from 2024,” NOAA Fisheries said on its website.
The agency said that before the death of the whale, the animal was injured. NOAA Fisheries said it first spotted the baby whale on Jan. 3 and noted “severe injuries to the head, mouth and lip from the impact of the ship.”
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NOAA Fisheries did not confirm whether injuries from the ship’s impact resulted in the young animal’s death, but said the calf’s “unique injuries and markings” helped the agency identify the marine mammal.
Unfortunately, the carcass of the baby whale was well washed up by other animals before experts found it, so more testing will be needed to get answers about the baby whale’s death.
“Due to the condition of the carcass, we will be using genetic testing to determine sex. We will continue to work with our partners to perform a necropsy and assess the wounds from the vessel impact,” NOAA Fisheries said on its website.
Photo of a North Atlantic right whale.
Getty
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The death of this young animal is even more painful because of the conservation status of its species. North Atlantic right whales are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. According to NOAA, there are an estimated 360 North Atlantic right whales left in the wild, and reproductively active females make up only about 70 of those whales.
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In 2017, NOAA declared an “unusual mortality emergency (UME)” for North Atlantic right whales after noticing increased mortality among the species. The agency cited entanglements and vessel strikes as possible causes of the increase in whale deaths in the North Atlantic.
Thirty-nine North Atlantic right whales, including a calf confirmed dead on Monday, have died in the unusual deaths since NOAA began documenting the problem in 2017.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education