The first North Atlantic right whale calf of the season safely reached Cape Cod Bay with its mother this week. The news came the same day another new mother of the species was reported dead off Virginia, killed by “catastrophic injuries” from a boat collision, also known as a vessel strike. Her calf, born in December, has disappeared and is unlikely to survive.
A right whale mother and her calf were spotted off the coast of Massachusetts this week, the first sighting of a right whale calf off Massachusetts for the 2024 season.