- Twenty-three North Atlantic right whale calves were born this season along the U.S. southeast coast — the most since 2009.
- Twenty of the 23 mothers were returning moms, a sign breeding is normalizing.
- Sightings of migrating whales jumped 29% on last year.
Endangered North Atlantic right whales have just had their strongest baby season in well over a decade, with 23 calves born along America’s southeast coast – the most since 2009.
It is a milestone for one of the most endangered and one of the largest whales in the world, and the numbers point to something bigger than a single good year. Of the 23 mother-and-calf pairs identified this season, 20 were returning moms. Since 2009 the average has hovered around 15 calves a year, and in some years there were seven or fewer.
Thirteen of those returning mothers last calved in the 2021 or 2022 seasons. That shorter gap between births is close to the healthy interval of three to four years, rather than the seven to 10 years seen more recently — a trend researchers say could speed up the population’s recovery.
The public is helping to track the comeback. There were 500 sightings of 129 whales heading south this season, a 29% increase on last year, many logged by people out on their own boats.
“These public reports add to data researchers collect during aerial and vessel surveys which contribute to updated right whale population and calving season numbers,” NOAA wrote in a report. Decades of conservation work appear to be paying off, with record sightings and a rising population over the past three years. This season’s calves are the clearest sign yet that the animals may be turning a corner
