(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – Six North Atlantic right whales have been found dead off the coast of the Canadian Maritimes in what scientists are calling an “unprecedented event.”
According to the CBC, all the animals have been discovered this month in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Magdalen islands of Quebec.
The endangered whales are frequent visitors to Cape Cod, where they feed on plankton in the bay.
Researchers estimate there are about 500 right whales left in the world. The dead whales found in Canada represent about 1 percent of the estimated global population.
The CBC reported at least two of the dead whales were females, an even more difficult blow to the species.
It is not yet known what caused the deaths. Canadian officials will perform necropsies to try and determine what led to the fatalities.
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