This World Whale Day, we share bittersweet news as we continue to celebrate an extraordinary calving season with 22 new North Atlantic right whale calves, bringing hope for the critically endangered species, while we are also saddened to share the recent report of a dead right whale that was found on a barrier island off Virginia's eastern shore last week. Biologists from nature_org discovered the carcass on Feb. 10, and a Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute aerial survey team was able to locate and photograph it on the remote beach. The newenglandaquarium identified the whale as a 3-year-old female. According to noaafisheries, this death marks the 43rd mortality in the ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (UME) impacting North Atlantic right whales, which have an estimated population of fewer than 400 whales left in the wild and only about 70 reproductive females. Photos of new calves and gatherings of endangered North Atlantic right whales bring hope for the future, but the ...