Following a spate of bad news for the endangered species, there’s a shred of optimism south of the border for the North Atlantic right whale.
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According to the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) in Provincetown, Mass., there’s been a mini baby boom in the rarest species of whale.
The (CCS) says its aerial survey team has spotted two mom and calf pairs in Cape Cod Bay, bringing the number of calves observed this season up to three.
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There are estimated to be around 410 North Atlantic right whales remaining, with no calves being seen during the 2017-18 calving season. Only 71 of those are believed to females that could potentially reproduce.
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But as of February, researchers have reported seeing seven right whale calves off the southern U.S. coast, where the mammals spend their winters before coming north to Canada as temperatures warm.
Half of the world’s North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2018. The federal fisheries department has said that the whale’s presence in Gulf was quite rare up until recent years.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
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