Floridian Volunteers and Scientists Guard Endangered North American Right Whales

Floridian Volunteers and Scientists Guard Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales, all up and down the Florida and Georgia coast. Endangered right whales are giving birth off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, during this time of year.

Volunteers and scientists, from Florida and Georgia working as a group or singularly are gazing out into the ocean sunrise, scanning for North Atlantic right whales. The coast is littered with “Whale Watch Survey Teams,” usually at the highest lookout point in the area, to search for whales once a week for at least five years.

Each new calf the Whale Watch Survey Teams or group spots gives them hope that the North American right whale…a highly endangered and often overlooked species…will recover.

“Slowly, slowly they must be growing” in numbers. because scientists say they are seeing an increase in numbers. With at least 32 new right whale calves, which is more than ever recorded, have been observed this season off the coasts of Georgia and Florida. This is where the where the whales migrate to give birth between late November and March.

Only about 400 members of the species exist, and the massive mammal is thought to be the most endangered of all the large whales.

That is why each birth is seen as a miracle of sorts and a potential key to the survival of a species that has been through many tough years, making it an endangered species.

For those of you who do not know, the Right Whales were named by their hunters, who once said they were the “right whale” to kill. When they were harpooned, the chubby whales floated to the surface of the water. That made them both profitable, easy to hunt and harvest.

Right Whales, can grow to 70 tons. That is the weight of more than a dozen elephants. Regardless of their size, they are difficult to spot in the water because of their jet black appearance and lack of dorsal fins. This has made them susceptible to humans in another way because they are often hit by ships.

Usually, one or two of these beautiful right whales are killed each year by collisions with ships. This has been a good year, with no recorded deaths from ship collisions this calving season. This is due to the fact that there is a new rule that requires large ships to slow down to 10 knots as they cruise through the whales’ birthing habitat. It seems to be helping.

So, with all of the Floridian Volunteers and Scientists keeping an eye out for these massive beauties and alerting ship captains, cruise lines, airplanes, Navy submarines and others to the whales’ whereabouts…there is an increase in calf’s this year.

Every morning during calving season, volunteers armed with binoculars and whale related handouts troll up and down the Florida coast. They climb up to balconies and zipping up elevators to the top floors of high rise condos and retirement communities, to look for right whales.

Above the volunteers and to the north, small planes filled with scientists mow neat grid lines over the Atlantic. When they spot a whale, they circle at 1,000 feet and precariously hang out an open window to shoot photos with a long range zoom lens.

Researchers in rubber boats use crossbows to dart the newborn whales and take tissue samples for clues about the species’ genetic makeup and individual family trees. Keeping track of their migration and births.

How do they do all of this whale listing? Since 1980, the New England Aquarium has used photos of the distinctive patterns on the whales’ heads. They also mark their scars from collisions with ships to identify the whales and assemble their family trees. Each whale is assigned a four-digit number in a catalogue, and many have been given names.

Drawings of all this season’s new moms are tacked to an upstairs wall in the New England Aquarium’s ocean side research house in Fernandina Beach, Florida, which is just up the coast from Jacksonville, Florida. Workers know the moms and their stories the same way FBI agents memorize the faces of their most-wanted suspects. It is an act of love for many.

Off the top of her head, assistant scientist Monica Zani can tell you that a whale named Baldy, her calf, No. 1503, and 1503′s calf, Boomerang, all gave birth this season.

“Yeah … they’re busy,” she said.

Florida and Georgia watchers work from computers, in front of the wall of whales, Zani collects sighting locations and sends out e-mails, text messages and pager alerts with the subject line “WHALE ALERT.” The messages give out the exact coordinates of the whales so ships won’t hit them.

But, what about the rest of the North American coast? There are more threats further north. Some whales have become entangled in fishing ropes and lobster traps. Such entanglements are frequently fatal. The ropes restrict the whales’ movements and dig into their skin, causing deep wounds and infections.

There have been efforts to change some fishing equipment to protect the whales, but researchers say they’ve already seen five entangled whales in the Southeast this year, which is a very high number, more than ever. Usually, just only one or two whales are found entangled each winter.

“Four hundred animals is not a vibrant, thriving population, but it’s one that’s very close to the edge,” said Amy Knowlton, a research scientist at the New England Aquarium. “And so I think we need to keep monitoring what’s happening from year to year, understand how they die, and really stay focused on the fact that this is a population that’s not out of the woods by any means.”

Barb Zoodsma, a right whale biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the high number of births this year can be “nothing but good news.”

Still, she said, the entanglement trend is troubling.

“The fate of this species can turn on a dime, so we need to ride the wave of good news right now, but we also need to remain vigilant for threats that are on the horizon,” Zoodsma said.

Katie Jackson, a marine mammal biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, is part of a team that tries to disentangle these whales before their wounds become fatal.

Riding in a small, inflatable boat, the scientists toss grappling hooks at the fishing ropes that ensnare the whales. Once they grab hold, they throw jackknives at the ropes to try to cut the whales loose.

Dispite this being extremely dangerous work and having the whales often swim away as fast as they can. Of the five entangled whales spotted this season, scientists have been able to free three, Jackson said.

One of the failed attempts was directed at whale No. 3311, named Bridle because it has a rope stuck through its mouth like a bridled horse. If Bridle isn’t disentangled, he likely will die, Jackson said.

But for the moment, right whale enthusiasts seem focused on the species’ apparent rebound.

Wood, the whale watcher, said many Florida residents are unaware of the school-bus sized creatures just off the shore.

“In this area people are always amazed that Florida has whales at all, so we try to educate the populace,” she said. “When people drive by and see people with binoculars looking at the ocean they do wonder what we’re doing.”

The more people know about the whales, the more they’ll be inclined to protect them, she said.

She says the right whale is a bit of a hard sell because of its awkward appearance. Researchers say the right whale is overshadowed by more glamorous whales, like the humpback.

But Wood loves the whales and their stories even if, as she says, they’re “not cute.” She thrives on the excitement of helping an underdog species recover.

“Since I started working on this we went from 350 to now closer to 400 whales,” she said.

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