MARSHFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A Cape Cod coastal science group says the first North Atlantic right whale babies of the year have been spotted in the Gulf of Maine.
The whales are endangered, with only a few hundred in existence. The Gulf of Maine is a critical feeding area for them.
The Center for Coastal Studies says an aerial survey found a mother and calf in the north end of Cape Cod Bay between Race Point and Marshfield on Monday. That happened hours after researchers from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center found a different mother and calf in the Cape Cod Canal.
The center says the male calf it spotted is the baby of a whale researchers call “Pediddle.” Pediddle is at least 39 years old and the calf is at least her eighth.
