2021–22 North Atlantic Right Whale Mother and Calf Pairs

[Updated March 3, 2022]

At the start of winter, pregnant North Atlantic right whales head to warmer Southeastern waters to give birth. This time of year, December through March, is known as calving season, where whales and their young can be seen gliding through the water, spurring optimism for this critically endangered marine animal.

With an estimated 336 whales left, researchers at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life (ACCOL) are working diligently to learn more about and protect this species, from right whale biologists conducting research via boats and planes to working in the laboratory to study their health and hormones.

ACCOL’s Right Whale Research Team tracks the age of sighted whales, the birth of calves, as well as human impacts like vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements in a catalog. The team also developed the first-ever pregnancy test for whales.

Throughout calving season, right whale researchers manage a detailed list of mom and calf pairs with biographical information that includes photographs, lineage, where the whales were last seen, how they were named and the challenges each whale has faced.

So far, 15 mother and calf pairs have been identified. Below is a growing list of sightings.

Recent sightings

 

 

#4180

Birth year: Unknown (first seen in 2010)
Last calving year: 2019
Previous calves: 1 (not yet cataloged)
Other relatives: n/a
Direct human impacts: 2 entanglements

Catalog #4180 was seen with her second calf by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute on March 2, 2022. #4180 is another mysterious mom, first seen in 2010 as a larger whale, so we do not know her actual age. Since she has never been genetically sampled, we don’t yet know anything about her family tree or relatives. However, we do know that #4180 did have a very serious run in with some fishing gear in 2018, made obvious by the extensive white scarring around her tail stock. Luckily, she survive that interaction and had a calf in 2019. Her 2019 calf has not yet been catalogued but was seen as recently as last summer (2021) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by our researchers.

 

 

 

#3157

Birth year: 2001
Last calving year: 2014
Previous calves: 2 (FDR (#4057), Seamount (#4457))
Other relatives: 8 siblings, 11 nieces and nephews
Direct human impacts: 2 entanglements

Catalog #3157 was seen with her third calf on February 10, 2022 by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. At 21 years old, she was born to her mother Moon (#1157) in 2001. #3157 has many siblings including another mom this year, Half Note (#1301), who is her older sister! While #3157 has been relatively lucky with few entanglements, her eldest son has not been so lucky. FDR (#4057) experienced five entanglements by the age of six, with severe ones in 2014 and 2016. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been seen since 2016. Interestingly, his 2014 entanglement was detected off FL within a week (and similar area) of his younger brother Seamount (#4457) being born off FL. He was successfully disentangled the next day, but there was certainly some wondering if #3157 had any idea that her 4-year-old son was in distress nearby.

 

 

 

#1515

Birth year: Unknown (first seen in 1985)
Last calving year: 2017
Previous calves: 7 (#1806, #3915, #4715, and 4 uncatalogued calves)
Other relatives: n/a
Direct human impacts: 1 entanglement

Catalog #1515 was seen with her eighth calf on January 23, 2022 by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission off the coast of Georgia. Researchers first saw #1515 as an adult in 1985, making her over 37 years old! Like many older whales in the catalog who were first sighted as adults, researchers do not know who her mother was or much else about her family tree. Four of her seven previous calves were never cataloged. This doesn’t necessarily mean they did not survive, as young whales sometimes roam into unknown areas and reappear once they have grown. With this 8^th calf, #1515 is now among the ranks of the most productive females of the population! (Currently, the record of 9 known calves is a three-way tie.)

 

 

 

Half Note (#1301)

Birth year: 1983
Last calving year: 2014
Previous calves: 6 (#1931, Neptune (#3301), #3601, #3801, #4201, #4401)
Other relatives: 7 siblings, 10 nieces and nephews
Direct human impacts: 2 entanglement

Half Note is 39 years old and was seen by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with her seventh calf on January 18, 2022 off Georgia. Half Note was born to Fermata (#1001) in 1983. Fermata was the first whale added to the North Atlantic Right Whale Identification Catalog! Half Note has been relatively lucky with human interactions, only two entanglements in her 39 years. Sadly, starting in 2006, Half Note apparently began to have difficulty nursing her calves. Her last four calves steadily lost weight before disappearing on the calving ground. The cause of this problem is unknown, but heart breaking to witness. Her only surviving calf, Neptune, is 20-years-old and is still seen regularly.

 

 

 

Naevus (#2040)

Birth year: 1990
Last calving year: 2014
Previous calves: 5 (Infinity (#3230), Millipede (#3520), Bocce (#3860), Casper (#4140), Avalanche (#4440))
Other relatives: 7 siblings, 5 grandkids, 7 nieces and nephews
Direct human impacts: 6 entanglements

Naevus is a 32-year-old born to Wart (#1140) and Galileo (#1720) in 1990. She was spotted by a recreational boater off of Georgia on New Year’s Eve with her sixth calf! Naevus has a very large family and her older sister, Slalom, is a fellow mom this season! Naevus is a lucky mom in that her five other offspring are seemingly alive and well, all being seen fairly recently. In fact, all three of her daughters (Infinity, Millipede, and Bocce) gave birth last year. Unfortunately her grandchild, Infinity’s 2021 calf, was struck and killed by a vessel at just a few weeks old. Naevus’ family is no stranger to entanglements either, there have been 22 entanglement events between her and her offspring. Her youngest son, Avalanche, was just named this year for the severe, but healing, entanglement scars around his tailstock.

 

 

 

#3220 (Previously unidentified)

Birth year: ? (First seen in 2002 as a mother)
Last calving year: 2012
Previous calves: 2 (#4220 and an uncatalogued 2002 calf)
Other relatives: n/a
Direct human impacts: 1 entanglement

Catalog #3220 is quite a mysterious whale. She was first seen by a recreational boater off of South Carolina on Dec. 24, 2021, but researchers were unable to confidently identify her until she was spotted by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute’s SC aerial survey team east of Ossabaw Island, GA, on Jan. 6, 2022. This is only part of her mysteriousness—She was first documented by researchers in the calving grounds in 2002 with a calf, and then she disappeared. Ten years later, she returned to the calving grounds with her second known calf (#4220), only to disappear again for another 10 years before returning with her latest calf! Catalog #3220 has never been documented in any other known right whale habitat.

 

 

 

Tripelago (#2614)

Birth year: 1996
Last calving year: 2017
Previous calves: 4 (#3414, “Sawtooth” #3714, #4014, #4714)
Other relatives: 3 siblings
Direct human impacts: 2 entanglements

An aerial survey team from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute sighted “Tripelago” (Catalog #2614)  with her fifth calf on December 26, 2021, seven miles east of Jekyll Island, GA. The 26-year-old mother is a reliable whale, as she has been seen by researchers every year since she was born, with the exception of 2014! Tripelago has three siblings, including her youngest sister “Hobbes,” the first offspring of the famous “Calvin.”

 

 

 

#3430

Birth year: 2004
Last calving year: 2011
Previous calves: 1 (#4130)
Other relatives: 4 siblings
Direct human impacts: 3 entanglements

Catalog #3430, spotted by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) with her calf off Florida on December 18, is an 18-year-old whale born to Celeste in 2004, and sired by #1419. She had her first, and only other calf, #4130, a male, in 2011. She has two sisters and two brothers, however her sister #3901 was found deceased with large propeller cuts in 2010.

 

 

 

Derecha (#2360)

Birth year: unknown (first seen in 1993)
Last calving year: 2020
Previous calves: 4 (Havana (#3460), Callosity Back (#3760), Equinox (#4060), #5010)
Other relatives: n/a
Direct human impacts: 3 entanglements

Derecha—first seen 29 years ago—was spotted with her calf by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) off the coast of Florida on December 18. This marks her fifth calf. She’s not yet a grandmother but hopefully her 15-year-old daughter, Callosity Back, will remedy that in the coming years. Derecha, and another mom of the year Snow Cone share something unfortunate in common, both of them calved in 2020 and both of their calves were struck by vessels. Derecha’s 2020 calf was seen with large propeller cuts across it’s head at just a few weeks old. This injury would likely make it unable to nurse or survive, but highly trained professionals managed to give it antibiotics to try and give it a fighting chance. Currently, we don’t yet know the outcome of the treatment, as the calf has not been seen since January 2020.

 

 

 

Silt (#1817)

Birth year: unknown (first seen in 1988)
Last calving year: 2009
Previous calves: 4 (#2617, Frida (#3317), Salem (#3617), and #3988)
Other relatives: 3 grandkids
Direct human impacts: 4 entanglements

Silt, spotted by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) with her calf off Florida on December 16, was first seen 34 years ago. Like many of our older whales that were first seen without their mothers, we have less family history on her. She became a grandmother in 2009 thanks to her productive daughter Frida, who has gone on to have two more calves since then. Like most right whales, her family has seen their fair share of human caused injuries. Her eldest, #2617, passed away in 2005, not long after a potential vessel strike, and Frida had a close encounter with a vessel as a calf.

 

 

 

Braces (#3320)

Birth year: unknown (first seen in 1998)
Last calving year: 2009
Previous calves: 1 (#3970)
Other relatives: n/a
Direct human impacts: 3 entanglements

Braces and her calf were sighted off the coast of Florida on December 16 by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Although Braces was first seen 24 years ago, much of her history is unknown. She is named for the white scars on her lip, caused by an entanglement. Her son, born in 2009, has experienced eight entanglements.

 

 

 

Mantis (#1620)

Birth year: unknown (first seen in 1986)
Last calving year: 2015
Previous calves: 6 (#3720, Nymph (#4020), #4520, plus 3 unidentified calves in 1996, 2001, and 2004)
Other relatives: n/a
Direct human impacts: 2 entanglements

Mantis and her calf were sighted off Georgia on December 12 by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute’s Georgia team. Mantis is a bit of a mysterious whale, she was first documented in 1986, so she’s at least 36, but she was already off on her own so we’re not sure her exact age, who her mother is, or if she has any siblings. She also likes to go years without being seen, especially after having a calf, which is why despite having six previous calves, three were never catalogued.

 

 

 

Arpeggio (#2753)

Birth year: 1997
Last calving year: 2013
Previous calves: 2 (#3853, #4553)
Other relatives: 1 elder sibling born in 1993 (never catalogued)
Direct human impacts: 7 entanglements and 1 vessel strike

Twenty-five-year old Arpeggio and her third calf were seen off South Carolina on December 10 by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute’s South Carolina team. As an only child, she has a small immediate family, but her name is a connection to her extended family. Arpeggio’s grandmother, Staccato, and two of her mom’s siblings also have musical names (1/4 Note and Legato)! Several times in recent years, Arpeggio has been seen in the company of Slalom (first mom of the year), perhaps getting tips from a fellow mom!

 

 

 

Snow Cone (#3560)

Birth year: 2005
Last calving year: 2020
Previous calves: 1 (#5060)
Other relatives: 5 siblings and 3 nieces and nephews
Direct human impacts: 3 previous entanglements (plus current)

Snow Cone and her calf were initially sighted of Georgia on December 2 by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Snow Cone is a 17-year-old whale born to mother #1308, and sired by Crabscar (#1155). She has five siblings including Chiminea (#4040) and Infinity (#3230) who were both moms last year! We can only learn of the father’s through genetics, but thanks to genetic samples, we know that Snow Cone actually had a half sister, #3595! Crabscar sired calves with two different females in 2005. Unfortunately Snow Cone’s family has no shortage of trauma. In additions to Snow Cone’s current entanglement, which could threaten the survival of both her and her calf, her first calf (in 2020) was killed by a ship at about six months old. In addition, her sister’s (Infinity) calf was struck and killed by a vessel in 2021, and Snow Cone’s nephew, Cottontail (#3920), succumbed to a fatal entanglement in 2021.

 

 

 

Slalom (#1245)

Birth Year: 1982
Last calving year: 2011
Previous calves: 5 (Insignia (#2645), #3145, #3545, Mogul (#3845), and #4145)
Other relatives: 4 grandkids, 7 nieces and nephews
Direct human impacts: 6 entanglements, including one as a calf.

Slalom and her calf were the first pair sighted during the 2021-22 calving season, having been seen off South Carolina by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute’s  team there. Born in 1982, Slalom is 40 years old—the eldest offspring to Wart (#1140)—and has 6 siblings! While she’s quite a traveler, seen in nearly all of the popular right whale habitats over the years, her son Mogul is famous for traveling to France, Iceland, and Newfoundland! We know Slalom is a tough cookie for surviving six entanglements while continuing to reproduce. That tough blood must run in the family as her sister, Pilgrim (#4340), was born in the frigid waters off of Cape Cod in 2013, instead of the toasty waters in the Southeast U.S. calving grounds.