Lecture Tonight to Focus on Future of Endangered Right Whales

COURTESY CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES RIGHT WHALE TEAM

PROVINCETOWN – The future of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale will be the focus of a discussion Wednesday night in Provincetown.

The species, which has an estimated population around 450, saw a spike in accidental deaths last year and had no reported calves this spring.

Dr. Charles “Stormy” Mayo will discuss steps that are being taken to prevent extinction at 5 p.m. at the Center for Coastal Studies on Holway Avenues in Provincetown.

The event will also include a tour of the center’s new Spinnaker Whale Skeleton Exhibit.

Admission for the event is $12 for non-members, $8 for seniors and students, $5 for members and free for children 10 and under.

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here, or by calling 508-487-3622 extension 103 or emailing [email protected].

The status of the species is bleak, particularly in the wake of at least 17 of the animals being found dead in 2017, most of which were in Canadian waters. The majority of right whale deaths are accidental with ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear being the leading cause.

Birth rates for the species continue to drop as well as there are only 100 breeding-aged females remaining. For the first time in decades, there were no new calves observed during this year’s spring birthing season.

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