Reddit
DeliciousVilano Beach (global-adventures.us): Scientists videotaped the birth of a right whale of the coast of Florida in waters earmarked by the U.S. Navy for a new warfare training range. Right whales are an endangered species and researchers say that only about 400 to 450 remain in the North Atlantic.
A research team conducting a survey for the U.S. military tracked a female right whale when it suddenly surfaced with a new born calf. It was only the second time that biologists were able to document the birth in the wild. The calf appeared at the surface after the adult had remained submerged for several minutes.
Right whales are easily distinguished from other whales by the callosities on their heads, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching mouth that begins above the eye. They have a distinctive V-shaped blow, caused by the widely spaced blowholes on the top of the head. Adults can reach up to 59 feet (18 meters) and weigh up to 80 tones. Females reach maturity after 6 to 12 years and bread only every 3 to 5 years.
The North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and the Southern Oceans are home to three distinct species. The right whales in the Atlantic typically migrate during the winter months south to the coast of Georgia and Florida to give birth. Other sightings have been reported between Norway and Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands.
Since the North Atlantic right whales migrate through some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, collisions are a big threat. 25 of the 71 right whale deaths reported since 1970 resulted from ship strikes, according to NOAA. Entanglement in fishing gear is the second major cause of death.
Scientist documented the birth east of Vilano Beach, Florida from a small airplane flying close to the planned military installation. "The Navy needs to go back to square one and reconsider," said Sharon Young, marine issues field director for the Humane Society of the United States. "This birth, which is just the most amazing thing, ought to give us pause."
The Navy considered several potential sites along the east coast before choosing Jacksonville for a new $100 Million warfare training range, despite opposition from environmental agencies. Scientists started to survey the area at the end of 2008, and the whale spotted on March 20, 2010 was the first such sighting. Nearly 90 minutes of the whale's labor and interactions with her newborn were documented, said William McLellan, a research biologist with the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
The whale birth was observed at least 10 miles outside the boundary of its planned training range, the Navy said.
