North Atlantic right whale experts have shared an update on the critically endangered population alongside a heart-warming video of a mother swimming with her calf in 2023.
There are fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) left in the wild so each individual birth and death makes a difference to the overall population.
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“In 2025 there have been ten new calves, as of February 11th,” says Michael Moore, a marine biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) who has been working with North Atlantic right whales for decades. This, he says, is “better than some recent years, less than others.”
Working out how many of the whales have died is more challenging and will take longer because researchers won’t always come across a carcass.
These animals are still at risk from human activities. “North Atlantic right whales continue to suffer human-caused mortality, poor growth and reproductive health resulting from vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglement and climate change,” says Moore.
To protect them in the long-term, people need to realise how important they are to the ocean, Moore adds. Slowing down vessels can reduce the chance of a collision and removing ropes and fishing gear from the water to prevent entanglement.
Some people might be lucky enough to see one of these critically endangered whales. “They can still be observed in certain times and places, such as Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, USA in February through April,” he says.
Video and image credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA NMFS permit #21371"
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