‘One of the rarest’ whales in world found stranded on NC’s Outer Banks, officials say
A rare whale calf was found stranded on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, officials say.
The North Atlantic right whale — a critically endangered species and “one of the rarest” marine mammals in the world — was recently found on North Core Banks, the National Park Service at Cape Lookout National Seashore posted Saturday on Facebook.
Biologists did a necropsy Saturday, the park service says. They also took DNA samples to “hopefully” find its mother as most of the species are “known individuals.”
They believe the whale died either during or shortly after birth, according to a Tuesday news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The calf was the first documented of the season, NOAA says.
‘One of the rarest’ in the world
Roughly 360 North Atlantic right whales remain in the world, according to the NPS, and between five and six calves are born each year.
During the fall, the whales travel from the waters off New England and Canada to the waters off the southern United States, which is their “calving area” where females give birth during the winter, according to NOAA.
But since 2010, deaths have been outpacing births among the species, NOAA says.
Twenty-two births and 31 deaths have been recorded since 2017, according to NOAA, and less than 100 “breeding females” remain in the world.
The species has been listed as endangered since 1970 and is considered “one of the world’s most endangered large whale species,” according to NOAA.
Human interactions are its greatest threat, according to NOAA.
“Entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes are among the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale mortality,” NOAA says. “Increasing ocean noise levels from human activities interferes with whale communication, and is also a concern.”
Why strandings happen
A number of factors can cause marine mammals to do so.
The most common reasons are injuries caused by collisions with vessels, entanglement in fishing gear, infections or diseases, starvation and unusual weather, according to NOAA.
A whale is considered stranded when it is found dead floating in the water or on the beach or when it’s found alive on the beach but unable to get back into the water, NOAA says.
Beachgoers should not approach stranded animals, NOAA says. Instead, “do your best to keep other people and pets from disturbing it” and call a local stranding network or use the Dolphin & Whale 911 app.
At least 50 strandings have been recorded on North Carolina’s Outer Banks since January, according to the OBX Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 12:31 PM.
