Environment

Endangered right whales possible new breeding ground

by Amy Judd | January 1, 2009 at 01:51 pm

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Scientists have revealed that they think they have found a possible new breeding ground in Portland Maine, for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.

There are only about an estimated 325 Right Whales in the wild and this finding could mean that the population will have a chance to restore itself a little.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the findings by its staff, stating that an aerial survey team spotted 44 of the whales on Dec. 3 in the Jordan Basin area, about 70 miles south of Bar Harbor, Maine. Eleven days later, the team spotted 41 right whales just west of Jordan Basin.

It is known that about 100 Right Whales go south in the winter to give birth near Florida and Georgia, but it was unknown where the other whales went at this time. Seeing so many whales together near Maine could give scientists a clue as to where the others are going.

"We’re excited because seeing 44 right whales together in the Gulf of Maine is a record for the winter months, when daily observations of three to five animals are much more common," team leader Tim Cole said in a statement. "Right whales are baleen whales, and in the winter spend a lot of time diving for food deep in the water column. Seeing so many of them at the surface when we are flying over an area is a bit of luck."

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