Scientists who study the endangered North Atlantic right whale are cautiously optimistic about the current breeding season after nine calves were spotted during its first few weeks.
Moira Brown, senior scientist with the Canadian Whale Institute, said fewer than 100 of the 340 surviving animals in the waters along Canada’s eastern coast are mothers.
“Every calf is valuable,” she said. “It’s a little bit of hope for the future. The last 10-to-12 years have been pretty hard on right whales.”
The calving season for North Atlantic right whales starts in mid-November and runs through mid-April.
The interval between one birth and another is usually three to five years, but more recently scientists have seen that window expand to between seven and 10 years, Brown said….