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A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 3 May 2017

Q&A: Expert says all’s not right for endangered right whales

WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Those en-
dangered North Atlantic
right whales cavorting in
Cape Cod Bay are fun to
watch, but their frolicking
doesn’t tell the whole story.
Charles “Stormy” Mayo, di-
rector of right whale ecolo-
gy at the federally funded
Center for Coastal Stud-
ies in Provincetown, Mas-
sachusetts, says ominous
signs suggest the global
population of 500 animals
is slowly declining — not in-
crementally rebounding as
experts had hoped a year
ago.
And the whales, it turns
out, can be pretty ornery.
The Associated Press asked
Mayo about how the
whales — some of the rar-
est creatures on the planet In this Feb. 14, 2017 photo provided by the Center for Coastal Studies, a pair of right whales feed just below the surface of Cape Cod
— are really faring: Bay off shore from Provincetown, Mass. Associated Press
Q: Right whales are back
in Cape Cod Bay for the died offshore and haven’t percent of the estimated they’re less severe. But en- reproduce. That may help
second spring in a row. been found. The result is a population. But we have to tanglements in fishing gear explain the low calving
That must make you pretty decline in the population. ask ourselves why they’re are a big problem. Eighty rate.
happy? It’s troubling because we feeding here now. It may percent of the population But we can’t get to every
A: Not entirely. The whole can’t seem to control the indicate that the places bears entanglement scars. animal, and it’s not easy
story on right whales is very human causes — entan- they used to feed are fail- As we speak, somewhere to cut the ropes off. Right
simple arithmetic: How glements and ship strikes ing. When they make these offshore there’s a whale whales are one of the most
many die and how many — and we’re not sure why radical changes, it’s a little that’s dragging gear. ornery creatures I’ve ever
are born? The birth rate more calves aren’t being worrisome. Q: What happens to whales dealt with.
this year is extraordinarily born. Q: What’s the biggest when they’re entangled? Q: Really? They look so
low. We’ve only seen four Q: And yet so many of threat to these whales? A: Many manage to free gentle.
whales born in the North these animals are being A: Vessel strikes seem to themselves. But others A: Well, let me wrap some
Atlantic. And the mortality seen. Isn’t that good news? have dropped through drag gear for months, and rope around your neck.
rate is up. A: These are extraordinarily a collective effort by the we’ve seen individuals that You can’t get it off. Then
Q: How many have died? rare animals whose habi- National Oceanic and At- have dragged it for years. down comes an alien with
A: There have been at tat stretches theoretically mospheric Administration There’s some evidence weird hooks poking at
least four deaths, but those all the way to Spain, so and the U.S. Coast Guard that female right whales, if you. Trust me: When they
are whales whose carcass- yes. During a single eight- to reduce speed in cer- they’ve been entangled, want to unload, they are
es have been found. We hour spotting flight, we’ve tain shipping channels. So are weakened and have not easy animals to deal
know more whales have seen 200 whales. That’s 40 now, if there are collisions, a diminished capacity to with.q