The first calf of the 2012 right whale calving season has been spotted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Central EWS (Early Warning System) Survey Team. On December 20th, Half-Note (#1301 in the whale catalog) was spotted about 7 nautical miles off the northern tip of Cumberland Island, Georgia. Half-note was spotted by the South Carolina survey team off the coasts of South Carolina and Savannah, GA, previously, without a calf. In fact, Half-note's sighting off South Carolina was the first confirmed sighting of a right whale in the southeast all season. At the time her calf was spotted, it was less than 4 days old.
Four juveniles and another potential mom, tentatively identified as #1812, were all spotted off southern Georgia as well. We now have up to 9 right whales in the southeast U.S. that we know of. If we're able to get you some pictures, we'll be sure to do so!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you all!
Julie and Kerry
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Whales in the Southeast!
While there have been no Right Whales sighted off the coast of Florida yet this season, there have been two more unconfirmed sightings off the coast of Georgia. Once of the sightings included 4 adult whales heading southeast. The other sighting was of a mother and calf heading northwest. If this second sighting is confirmed, we will have the first known calf of the season!
So far, here in Florida, we have had an unusually warm winter. This may be keeping the whales north of us for the time being. Maybe we'll be lucky and have a cold front or two roll through so that we have the opportunity to spot some right whales soon!
So far, here in Florida, we have had an unusually warm winter. This may be keeping the whales north of us for the time being. Maybe we'll be lucky and have a cold front or two roll through so that we have the opportunity to spot some right whales soon!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Right Whales Detected off Georgia
As more of an effort is being made to detect right whales through passive acoustics, the results are paying off. Until today, the furthest south a right whale was confirmed was a single female off South Carolina on Nov. 22nd. However, this morning an alert was sent to mariners stating that right whales have been acoustically detected off the coast of Georgia, southeast of Savannah about roughly 11 miles offshore! They're on their way! The aerial survey teams in south Georgia and north Florida have started their surveys. We'll be on standby to see what they find!
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