The right whale calf had been dead by the time it washed up on the shore of Anastasia Island, Florida, on Saturday morning. Reports say it had been struck lethally by a boat on Friday night, with the boat itself also damaged heavily.
Since right whales are endangered with less than 400 left in the wild, they are closely monitored from the time they are born. The deceased calf was the offspring of mother Infinity. At this point, it is unknown where exactly the mother was.
Jim Hain, the chief scientist at the Marineland Right Whale Project, stresses how important good calf production and low mortality rates are for the population. “When something like this happens, it’s like a gut punch. […] And, you know, each one that occurs, unfortunately, impact the future population.”
The calf’s body was studied by biologists to hopefully prevent similar events in the future. Hain says “It’s humans that are killing right whales, so we’re trying to make human education change human behavior.”
The full story can be found here: Right whale calf fatally struck by boat washes up on Anastasia Island (news4jax.com)
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