A rare whale is found dead near Georgia
A rare North Atlantic right whale was found dead off the coast of Georgia this week, the second fatality in recent weeks involving the critically endangered species, the federal agency that monitors the oceans said.
North Atlantic right whales, which can grow larger than some motor yachts, are usually found within 30 miles of the east coast of the United States and off the coast of Atlantic Canada, but the organization says the animals are getting closer. are endangered and are subject to injuries from fishing gear and ship strikes.
The whale that died was the female calf of North Atlantic right whale No. 4340, also known as Pilgrim, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement Thursday. The agency was notified Tuesday that a dead whale was floating off the coast near Savannah, Georgia.
The whale, born in 2022, was identified after an aerial survey team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute searched for and found the carcass Wednesday about 20 miles (32 kilometers) off Tybee Island, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Savannah.
The aerial assistance allowed a team from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to get close to the carcass to “attach a satellite tag and collect photographs and samples to help identify the whale,” NOAA said.
NOAA said it would work with its partners to determine the logistics of towing the carcass to shore and whether an autopsy was possible given the whale's condition and weather concerns. A photo shared by the agency showed sharks heavily scavenging the carcass.
It was not immediately clear what caused the whale's death, but it is the latest worrying report this year on the critically endangered species.
Last month, a female North Atlantic right whale was found dead, with a rope wrapped around it, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
That whale, thought to be a juvenile because of its size, had washed up on Joseph Sylvia State Beach on the island's northeastern coast, with the rope wrapped around its stem, the part that connects the tail fin to the body, NOAA said.
And earlier last month, a North Atlantic whale calf was spotted off the coast of South Carolina with what appeared to be lacerations from a ship's propeller on its head.
For centuries, North Atlantic right whales were hunted for their blubber, which was used in cosmetics, leather and soap.
The critically endangered species' habitat overlaps with shipping lanes and other human activities, making it vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.
Adult whales can grow to between 13 and 15 meters in length and weigh up to 70 tons. according to NOAA.
Efforts to lower speed limits for boats near the species' habitat have been unsuccessful. There are fewer than 360 whales left, and among them fewer than 70 reproductively active females. according to NOAA.
In 2017, the agency declared an “ongoing unusual mortality event” for the species, and the calf's death this week brings the total since then to 38 fatalities.
The deaths of two young whales within weeks of each other are 'heartbreaking and preventable' said Kathleen Collins, senior campaign manager for the nonprofit International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“The whale graveyard off our eastern seaboard continues to grow,” she added, noting that “while we do not know the cause of this specific death, we know that human activities pose the greatest threat to the survival of this kind.”