Researchers baffled by rare animal behavior spotted along popular coast: 'Super unusual'

An exciting but concerning wildlife sighting off the Jersey Shore has puzzled experts.

What's happening?

A mother North Atlantic right whale and her calf were spotted February 3 near the northernmost coast of New Jersey, TAPinto Neptune reported. The animals feed in northeast New England and Canada but travel to Florida every winter to calve.

"Scientists are perplexed as to why this pair of whales are away from their normal swimming grounds," the outlet stated. Nora Ives, a marine scientist with the Oceana North Atlantic right whale campaign, called it "super unusual."

The mammals were nearly extinct in the 1890s, and there are only about 70 reproductive females. North Atlantic right whales are giving birth later in life, and as many as 10 years are elapsing between births by one female, Ives said. They're dying off even though they can live 130 years.

The adult right whale in question is known as Accordion because of the propeller scars on her back. She is a first-time mother and is 14 to 17 years old. The calf was 3 to 4 weeks old at the time, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries report about the sighting.

Why is this important?

There are only a few hundred right whales remaining. In 2012, for the first time in over a decade, estimated deaths of the animal exceeded documented births, according to a NOAA Fisheries graphic shared by TAPinto Neptune. Since 2017, there has been an "unusual mortality event," with deaths far exceeding births from 2014 to 2019.

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The figures seemingly rebalanced in 2020, perhaps because the COVID-19 pandemic helped reduce vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements, the primary threats to the magnificent creatures, which have lost about one-fifth of their population over the last decade.

"They're really hard to see because they are dark and they don't have a dorsal fin," Ives told TAPinto Neptune. "And they swim slowly, close to the surface of the ocean. So, that's a big part of the reason they're critically endangered, because the two main threats are vessel strikes, again because we can't see them, and they can't move fast enough to get away, and fishing gear."

What's being done to protect North Atlantic right whales?

It is illegal to approach the species, but Ives said people should take a photograph if they think they see one. Even if it's far away or blurry, it can help scientists understand the whales better.

Because the whales remain close to the coast and must traverse busy shipping lanes, mariners are encouraged to slow down. This doesn't always make a difference, however, especially to mothers and calves, as they stay near the surface.