Scarborough, Maine – a kind of whale in danger of extinction gave birth to few offspring this reproduction season, which has generated alarm between scientists and conservationists who fear that the animal can be extinguished.
The whale is the North Atlantic Free Whale, which only has about 370 copies and has decreased in the population in recent years. The whales give birth to their offspring off the southeast coast of the United States from mid -November to mid -April, and federal authorities have said they need to have at least 50 offspring per season to start recovering.
The whales did not approach that figure this year. The reproduction season produced only 11 mother and breeding couples, said the New England Aquarium scientists in Boston.
The lack of baby whales underlines the need to protect whales, conservationists said Monday. Whales are vulnerable to getting tangled up in maritime fishing arts and collisions with large ships.
“They also reproduce more slowly than they used to do it”said the International Fund for Animal Welfare in its qualifications report of the reproduction season. “This is probably due to the stress of tangles, navigation between intense maritime traffic, the increase in oceanic noise and the changing distribution of its food sources.”
The playback season had some bright points. Several females gave birth for the first time, and that gives hope for the future, the aquarium said in a statement. The whale population only has about 70 remaining reproductive females.
“With past young counts ranging from 39 to zero, we never know how a reproduction season will takeSaid Philip Hamilton, main scientist at the Anderson Cabot center for the oceanic life of the Aquarium.
The whales can weigh up to 150,000 pounds (45,360 kilograms) and were largely exploited during the business era of whales. They have been protected for decades, but they have recovered slowly.
In recent years, scientists have said that whales have diverted from the protected areas established in search of food, and that has put them at greater risk of tangles and collisions. Whales migrate from South to New England and Canada to feed on small oceanic organisms.