Wicked Local
PROVINCETOWN Despite diligent research and fervent advocacy the North Atlantic right whale population has declined 25 percent since 2010. This past year saw a glimmer of hope with a bump in births to 14 whales (there were none two years ago) but the critically endangered species is still struggling to exist.
And right now a big chunk of that population has arrived in Cape Cod Bay.
“This is the beginning of the season,” explained Charles “Stomy” Mayo, director of the Right Whale ecology program at the Center for Costal Studies in Provincetown.
“Massachusetts is steward to one of the rarest animals on Earth. That’s why there is so much interest. That’s why people come here. You can go to the beaches in Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown and see them a few miles offshore, he said, adding, Already there were 27 on one (research) flight and there may have been more but they were on such deep, long dives the aircraft couldn’t circle long enough.”
Endangered whale calf s death underscores need for boaters to be aware of surroundings
A right whale calf washed up on a beach in St. Augustine over the weekend. The calf s death was caused by a boat. Author: Jessica Clark Updated: 9:12 PM EST February 15, 2021
On Saturday, authorities discovered a dead right whale calf washed up on the shores of St. Augustine. It had been killed by a boat.
The North Atlantic Right Whale, an endangered species, swims just beneath the water s surface, making them vulnerable to boat. They come very close to the shore, Megan Stolen, a research scientist with the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute, said.
On the coasts of Florida, a 2-month-old baby right whale was found lifeless. This death is crucial as the right whales are considered endangered, and each one counts.
Cape Cod books: Part 3 of ideas for winter reading by local authors
“Not Always Home Before Dark,” by Brooke Newman (2020, The Troy Book Makers, $14)
Set partly in Truro, where the internationally best-selling author has a home, this memoir is about a dog named Cajun, who was found in 2005 wandering the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He blossomed into “a world-class dog with a magnificent soul,” Newman says, though he loved to wander and became known as “the uninvited party guest” after showing up at other families’ festivities. Newman’s book explores the “glories of the human-canine relationship” and one mutt who made friends wherever he went, including on his annual summer trips to a Cape Cod beach house.