Florida’s Melbourne Beach A boat struck and killed a young right whale that was considered critically endangered and was seen off the Space Coast.
Though it was last seen close to Melbourne Beach, the baby whale was discovered dead off the coast of Georgia. Given that the species is in danger of going extinct, the demise devastates both biologists and beachgoers.
Just past the surf line in early February, Spessard Holland South Beach Park was one of the last locations where the juvenile right whale was spotted alive.
After witnessing the whale’s necropsy, Joel Cohen, who had recently returned to the Space Coast, stated, “It was a confirmed blunt force trauma to the head, cracked skull.”
Researchers found that the baby whale had died as a result of a boat strike after locating the carcass. “We have to do something about vessel strikes, or this species is going to go extinct,” Cohen stated.
Having been a drone pilot for the Right Whale Sighting Network, he captured official drone footage of the calf’s birth at the end of 2022. After that, he got to see the whale mature and, a few days before she passed away, he saw her one more in South Brevard County.
“When we get a happy, charismatic animal flopping around, it’s good for the soul,” he stated. When a one-year-old whale’s carcass was discovered floating off the coast of Georgia last week, hearts were instantly broken.
It’s simply heartbreaking. My heart hurts so much. Right whales have a unique place in Betty Gonzalez’s heart. “It breaks my heart,” she said.
Gonzalez gave FOX 35 access to images and footage of the right whale. She recalls watching the newborn calf playing with her mother and dolphins not far behind her beachside house. “It’s just crazy to know that there’s so many not making it, and I don’t want to lose them,” the tourist said.
For right whales, boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the major causes of mortality. Less than 70 fertile female whales remain in the entire species worldwide, with only 350 whales remaining as of right now.
The entire ecology would be destroyed if the species went extinct, according to Cohen, who notes that “most people have no idea how connected we humans are to whales.”
Because of the way that they feed and maintain the health of the ocean ecosystem, he refers to right whales as “the nutrient pump or what’s called the gardeners of the ocean.”
Right whale sightings must be reported to give the species a shot at survival because there are so few left. You should dial 888-97-WHALE (94253) and have it handy. It’s important because it sends out a notification, warning boaters to stay away from the area and preventing an unintentional boat collision and kill of the whale.
