A baby boom for North Atlantic right whales against extinction

Researchers from the Center for Coastal Studies have spotted three North Atlantic right whale mother and calf pairs in Cape Cod bay. The whales went every year to Georgia and Florida in winter to give birth off, before moving up the east coast of the United States in the spring.

The news of this baby boom off the coast of Massachusetts is amazing, for one of the most threatened species in the world. It believed that only 450 specimens remain. Scientist magazine also reports that seven whale were notified outside Florida this year.

These whales tend to stay close to the coasts and have a high blubber content, which is why the right whales were hunted and practically bringing them to extinction in the early 1890s and have been listed as endangered since 1970. It remains illegal to come within 500 yards (457 metres) of a North Atlantic right whale without a Federal Research Permit.

In addition to the North Atlantic right whale there are two other species, namely the Southern right whale and the North Pacific right whale. Especially the second is seriously threatened. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports only 200 specimens.