2021 Summary Video: Second Half
Our drone pilot and video guru, Sara, has prepared a most excellent video of the second half of the season. To view, click on the title below:
2021 Survey Season: Second Half
Season Summary
In the 2021 season, the Marineland Right Whale Project responded to 30 right whale sightings. Of these, 24 were mother-calf pairs with identifiable photographs, and 3 were mother-calf pairs whose identities could not be determined. There was also a yearling, a pair, and a trio. Of the mother-calf pair sightings, 21 were of Catalog #4040, Chiminea, a 13-year-old with her first calf. On 24 April, the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown reported that Chiminea and her calf had made it safely to Cape Cod Bay. For the MRWP, 2021 was our most successful season in a decade.
Contributing to these results, the MRWP had 19 days with successful drone flights. The incorporation of drones into our response and identification protocols has considerably enhanced the effectiveness of the program.
Through the collective efforts (including all investigators and research groups) in the Southeastern U.S., 17 new calves were documented in the 2021 season. This was the best calf production in eight years (since 2013). In addition, there were a number of yearlings, adults, and groups. This may hint at a return to the demographics of earlier years, when a diverse group of right whales, in larger numbers, migrated to the Southeastern U.S. As we look to 2022, keep your fingers crossed.
