BOSTON — Researchers photographed an unidentified North Atlantic right whale calf off Anticosti Island, Quebec, in September, and New England Aquarium scientists said this week it was likely born months earlier and missed during winter surveys, The Associated Press reported via WBUR.
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Why it matters
The discovery brings the count from the latest birthing season to 24, the most productive year since 2009 and the fourth-highest on record, the aquarium said. Only about 380 of the whales are left, and the population has fallen since 2010, the AP reported.
How it was missed
The calf was seen with its 38-year-old mother, known to researchers as Silt. Scientist Amy Warren said Silt was briefly seen in the southeastern U.S. calving grounds in February and may have had the calf there before slipping away unrecorded, the AP reported.
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