PROVINCETOWN, MASS. (WHDH) - Researchers from the Center for Coastal Studies Right Whale Ecology Program documented two North Atlantic right whale mother/calf pairs in Cape Cod Bay this week, bringing the number of calves seen in the Bay this spring to three.
The first pair was photographed off Race Point on Sunday by local naturalist Peter Flood. The mom was identified by CCS researchers as Calvin, who was first seen with her new calf on Feb. 3 off the coast of Georgia.
On Tuesday, the CCS aerial survey crew sighted a second mom/calf pair about 1.5 nautical miles north of Mayflower Beach in Dennis. The mother, Palmetto, was initially spotted with her calf in early February off South Carolina. This is Palmetto’s fifth documented calf, and the only one she is known to have brought into Cape Cod Bay.
Later in the day, the flight team photographed a right whale named Harmonia and her calf about one nautical mile east of Manomet. In August 2019, a fecal sample was collected from Harmonia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by the New England Aquarium team; subsequent analysis indicated she was pregnant and it was confirmed in January when she was seen with her calf off Georgia. This is Harmonia’s third known calf and the only one that she has been documented with in Cape Cod Bay.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time that either of these two new moms have brought their calves into Cape Cod Bay,” said Dr. Charles “Stormy” Mayo, Director of the Right Whale Ecology Program. “At this point in time, we don’t know what specifically drew them here this year, although good feeding conditions is likely part of the story and the results of our right whale habitat monitoring work may offer up some clues.”
Boaters, kayakers, paddle-boarders, swimmers and light aircraft and drone pilots are reminded that it is illegal to approach a North Atlantic right within 500 yards without a Federal Research Permit.
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