Name: Scientists Attempt To Free Entangled Right Whale
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Endangered right whale populations are declining and not a single adult is known to have died of natural causes in more than a decade.

Entanglement responders work to free a critically endangered whale from rope.

Scientists Attempt To Free Entangled Right Whale

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Endangered right whale populations are declining. Not a single adult is known to have died of natural causes in more than a decade.

Entanglement responders work to free a critically endangered whale from rope.

Nature

Scientists Attempt To Free Entangled Right WhalePublished: May 25, 2023NARRATOR: Barb Zoodsma coordinates N.O.A.A.’s right whale recovery program in the southeast. In February 2020, she heads out to look for new calves with biologist Tom Pitchford.PLANE RADIO: Harvey, Orion mostly at the surface and travelling in the northwest direction, slowly. Over.BARB ZOODSMA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Right Whale Recovery): Perfect. We’re all set. Thank you very much. The plane just radioed us, and they said there’s an “alpha charlie” over here. And that’s code for an adult and calf. As a protection measure, we’re kind of cryptic on the radios. Katie, will you let me know when you have eyes on them?KATIE JACKSON (Biologist, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission): Will do.BARB ZOODSMA: Thank you.TOM PITCHFORD (Biologist, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission): The right whale count of calves born, thus far, in the southeast, and that’s all the southeast United States, is at 10. It’s better than the seven last year, and two years ago, when there was zero. It’s nowhere near enough to get the population moving in a positive direction.KATIE JACKSON: Our average calving interval was three to five years, for a long time. And what we’ve been seeing, since 2010, is that just creep up and up and up and up. And so we’re into the seven-, eight-, nine-, 10-year calving interval for a lot of females.BARB ZOODSMA: All right, I’m moving in a little bit slower. Look how smooth it is. These calves are very weak swimmers when they’re first born, and so these are real good conditions for the calves to learn how to swim. When they leave here, they have hundreds of miles to swim. They’re going to need a really strong bond to make it there together.NARRATOR: The whales can’t stay in these calm warm waters for long. The mothers need to eat huge quantities of food in the spring and summer to survive, and so, by March, the pairs head north, to the plankton-rich waters off New England and Canada. The calves will nurse, for at least 10 months, and more than double in size, before they learn to find food. Most calves stay with their mothers for about 12 months, before venturing out on their own.TOM PITCHFORD: In Florida, we work closely with groups of citizen scientists who are extending the reach of our airplane, by going to the beach and scanning the ocean for right whales. And it can be a huge help.NARRATOR: This is Lily Pinkham’s first year volunteering with the Marineland Right Whale Project.LILY PINKHAM (Citizen Scientist): The first thing I saw was a spout. As time went on, and I started pointing it out to everybody, it started putting its flippers up. And then we saw that there were two spouts. And we were able to identify it as a right whale, because of the V-shaped blow.CITIZEN SCIENTIST #1: That was a good. That was a big one.CITIZEN SCIENTIST #2: But the first sighting, that was all due to Lily.LILY PINKHAM: The first sighting, that was due to our team. Yeah, that’s right.NARRATOR: The first calf sighted in the 2020 season was born to a 15-year old, first-time mother.SARA ELLIS (Biologist, Marineland Right Whale Project): This is female 3560, named Snow Cone, with her baby. We won’t be able to identify this calf based on just what callosities we see now, but they darted this calf, too, so they have D.N.A., which will help identify him later. And look, the calf’s upside down, you see both of the pectoral fins.WOMAN: Oh, my gosh.NARRATOR: As right whales mature, roughened patches of skin, like callouses, form on their heads. This pattern is unique, like a fingerprint, and helps scientists identify and keep track of individual whales, over the years.SARA ELLIS: She’s now been seen off Miami and possibly the Keys; trying to confirm that.WOMAN: This year.SARA ELLIS: Yeah, right now, right now. But, generally, it’s just unusual behavior for any of the right whales to go south of Canaveral. So, 3560 is going to keep us guessing for a while. And so the question is, will she turn around and come back or will she go into the Gulf of Mexico?

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Scientists Attempt To Free Entangled Right Whale

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