Right whale babies spotted off Georgia coast

Survey teams across Southeast notch five calf sightings since mid-November

Among the data researchers dissect is fertility, and by late last week five mother-and-calf pairs had been spotted in the region.

Last year, 39 babies were spotted in the calving zone, a record high since survey flights began in the Southeast in 1984.

This year off Georgia's coast, unfavorable weather conditions hindered efforts to track the highly endangered whales during much of December, said Tricia Naessig, who leads the Wildlife Trust team in St. Simons.

"We're really hoping the new year brings less wind," Naessig said with a chuckle, explaining that the airborne watchers need at least two nautical miles of visibility. "It's just one of those things. It started out slow because we weren't out there. Now that we've been able to get in the air more, we're seeing a lot more animals."

An estimated 300 to 400 of the right whales exist, having survived widespread whaling until it was outlawed in the 1930s.

More recent threats to the species are ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

On a Dec. 15 flight, for instance, the St. Simons team spotted a 3-year-old male off Wolf Island with a left flank and back marred by propeller scars.

Naessig said the wounds were fresh, likely a month or two old. In February, the last time the whale was seen, there were no scars, she said.

"It's just a demonstration of what can happen to these animals," Naessig said, stressing the importance of boating slowly when right whales are present.

Until April in the calving grounds, vessels more than 65-feet long must travel at 10 knots or less when within 500 yards of right whales, according to federal law.

While the right whale population has held steady since the 1930s, any hazard - particularly to adult females - could be catastrophic, Naessig said.

"It takes an estimated four calves to replace one adult female known to give birth," she said. "So it's pretty dire when we lose a female, and we've lost quite a few over the last few years."