Wildlife officials concerned about 43-foot whale and her calf off the Florida Keys
An endangered North Atlantic right whale, which officials say could be up to 43 feet long, has been spotted swimming with her calf in the shallow waters off the Florida Keys.
Wildlife officials are trying to locate the marine mammals and lead them to safety in deeper waters. They’re asking for the boating public’s help in finding the pair.
Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, said Thursday that there have been several reports of the whales swimming in Florida Bay between Cape Sable on the tip of the Florida mainland and the Middle Keys city of Marathon. Some of the water may be as shallow as 14 feet, he said.
The calf is estimated to be about 19 feet long, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Right whales come to the southeast to give birth, or calf, every winter, said Barb Zoodsma, right whale biologist for NOAA Fisheries. But, soon after, the baleen whales typically head back to New England to spend the spring, summer and fall feeding on plankton.
But, this mom took her newborn south instead — although she now appears to be traveling in the right direction.
The mother was first seen alone off the Georgia coast and northern Florida in November before giving birth. On Dec. 16, she was spotted near Jacksonville with the calf, and the pair started swimming down the Florida coast, Zoodsma said.
On Feb. 16, they were off Sebastian Inlet, and four days later, they were off Key Largo.
They then rounded the Florida peninsula and made it all the way up the Gulf coast to the panhandle, and were sighted off Pensacola Pass March 11, Zoodsma said.
“They’ve been on quite the journey,” she said.
The whales were last seen in Florida Bay by a Florida Keys angler who told scientists they were swimming fast in shallow water. This has Zoodsma and other scientists concerned that if the whales don’t make it out of the Keys soon, they run the risk of beaching themselves in the shallow water.
“From where I’ve been sitting, it’s been a harrowing ride seeing where they’re going and where they’ve been,” Zoodsma said.
While in Florida, right whales fast, so what also concerns wildlife experts is that the mother hasn’t eaten in four to five months while nursing her newborn the whole time.
“She’s getting quite thin,” Zoodsma said.
So, time is a factor, and Zoodsma said that it is important for those looking for the whales to give them plenty of space if they do spot them. Along with the beaching risk, the right whales, who are more comfortable in the cold North and Mid-Atlantic Ocean than they are in the warm South Florida water, could exhaust themselves if they swim too hard to get away from nearing boats.
“It’s like doing calisthenics in a hot tub,” Zoodsma said. “Stay back and let them have their space.”
North Atlantic right whales are endangered, and their populations are in decline, Zoodsma said. In fact, she said there are fewer than 100 reproducing females left in the world.
“She is one of these incredible, incredible animals,” Zoodsma said. “People can help by giving them the space they need to get up the coast and letting them travel at the speed they’re comfortable traveling at.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is asking boaters who see the whales to try to safely photograph them and note their exact coordinates, Linhardt said. He added, however, do not approach them and stay 500 yards away.
If you spot the whales, contact the NOAA Fisheries at 877-942-5343 or the FWC at 888-404-3922.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Wildlife officials concerned about 43-foot whale and her calf off the Florida Keys."
