Right Whale Spotted With Calf Off Outer Cape Cod

Photo courtesy of the Center for Coastal Studies

PROVINCETOWN – Observers from the Center for Coastal Studies spotted a North Atlantic right whale and her calf on the ocean-side of the Outer Cape this past weekend.

Seventeen-year-old Snow Cone gave birth in December to a calf while she was entangled in rope, a situation that is dangerous to the endangered mammals.

Rope entanglements and boat strikes are major reasons why there are only hundreds of North Atlantic right whales remaining, according to marine officials.

Snow Cone’s first calf was killed by a boat strike in 2020, according to the Center for Coastal Studies.

Snow Cone gave birth this past December after coming through an entanglement and migrating south to the waters off of Georgia.

She has since traveled back up to the Northeast region while still having some rope entangled in her jaw. Disentanglement crews in Georgia back in December couldn’t remove the rope due to Snow Cone’s calf being so close to her.

Teams with the Center for Coastal Studies will continue to monitor Snow Cone and her calf, as they try to mitigate any further entanglement or boat strike risks.

Until then, boaters are still urged to use caution in local waters as more right whales appear.

About Brendan Fitzpatrick

Brendan, a recent graduate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is one of the newest members of the CapeCod.com NewsCenter team. When not on the beat, you'll probably find him watching Boston sports.



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