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Founded 1977


 Save The Whales' mission is to preserve and

 protect the ocean and its inhabitants.


 


North Atlantic Right Whales 
Zero Calves This Year

Right Whale Mother and Calf
Photograph by Peter Chadwick

No mother-calf pairs of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena japonicaoff the coasts of Georgia and Florida have been seen by spotters, causing researchers to voice concern about the critically endangered species. No births were recorded, the first ever since survey flights started in1989. 
Last year had 12 deaths: eight whale deaths in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at least four off Cape Cod, and only five documented births. Out of a total population of 450, these numbers are alarming. Under current conditions, right whales are two decades away from extinction.  
Deaths occur mainly from ship strikes and entanglement in nets. Food limitation may have the whales looking for high densities of their food and not finding it.Their preferred food is zooplankton.
If the females don't get enough to eat over the winter, they won't be able to support nursing their calves. They have to build up a huge amount of fat, and they cannot do that under the circumstances. 
A century ago almost every right whale in the Atlantic had been slaughtered by humans. The dangers have altered. Climate change seems to have affected their food source. Sewage fills their habitat with pollution. There is noise from construction and seismic tests, all of which hamper the whales to live and reproduce. 
Over the last three decades, an average of 17 right whales were born every year, until 2017 which was a particularly bad year as described above.
In decades past, they received protection from the Endangered Species Act and the Marine  Mammal Protection Act which helped them get their numbers up to 482 in 2010. But then the population started to decline and it is down to 450. Because they are or were rare in Canada, few protections were in place at that time.

What Can Be Done
Speed restrictions on ships would help as many bodies show signs of trama caused by a ship collision. Lobster fishermen are working on nets that would break apart easily and hopefully would lessen the gruesome deaths caused by entanglement. Canada is putting more protections in place such as area closures, speed restrictions and a $167 million investment on endangered whale species.
Working together, hopefully, we can have a more positive outcome.

 _______________________________________________________

In the last several months we have witnessed more Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) growing closer to extinction.
Whale - North Atlantic Right Whale, 450 is best estimate.
Dolphin - Orca or Killer Whale - Pods J, K and L - resident pods of orcas off the coast of Washington state, 79 individuals.
Porpoise - Vaquita, lives only in Mexico, less than 30 remain. 
Let's work toward a new administration, one that recognizes the value of the environment, wild places and wildlife.

Thank you for doing all that you can to protect wildlife.

    
Maris Sidenstecker 
President Co-Founder - Save The Whales
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

Save The Whales
Voted Top-Rated Nonprofit 2018


Rare Monk Seal Born

A female monk seal (Neo-monachus schauinslandi)
known as RH58, nick-named Rocky, has lived on and around Oahu since 2002. She returned to Kauai where she was born 17 years ago.
Last June on a Waikiki beach, she gave birth to a pup, a popular area with Honolulu residents.
Normally, monk seals prefer giving birth in a quiet area, so it is rare that she chose a congested beach like Waikiki.
It's the first monk seal to be born in the densely populated tourist district since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began keeping track in the 1970s.
Monk seals are an endangered species, and there are an estimated 1,400 animals in the wild. The only population is found in Hawaii.
     
Monk seal taking a nap.
  Photo by Caleb Siemmons

They are called monk seals because they are solitary, and the soft folds of fur around their necks resemble the cowls worn by monks.

Vaquita Day
July 7, 2018
SAVE THE DATE

A Day to Celebrate
The Vaquita
 
Two Locations 
Monterey -
to be determined

Santa Cruz, CA


Save The 
Whales Giving

Illustration - Nodar Kipshidze


SNAIL MAIL
Save The Whales
1192 Waring Street
Seaside CA 93955

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Save The Whales, 1192 Waring Street, Seaside, CA 93955
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