The great right whales of the North Atlantic are facing extinction and more and more scientists are confirming this. Threatened by a drastic drop in births and an increase in ship accidents, there are currently only 450 left.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himLe great right whales of the North Atlantic are in danger of extinction and more and more scientists are confirming this. Threatened by a drastic drop in births and an increase in ship accidents, there are currently only 450 left.
The situation was already drastic, but 2017 was a black year for right whales (Eubalaena) that live in the North Atlantic and are among the most threatened species in the world: according to researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) they would be at risk of extinction.
And once again, to intervene directly on nature, it is the hand of man because most of the right whales, die from accidents against boats or because it gets caught in fishing gear.
For the NOAA of the approximately 450 whales left, only 100 would be breeding females and if we consider that births are only 40% the picture is really problematic.
Why don't whales reproduce with difficulty? According to a new study, getting entangled in fishing gear and constantly living alongside large vessels would cause such stress that it negatively impacts their ability to reproduce.
Another sad reality is that of Norwegian whales:
- WHALE HUNTING IN NORWAY: NO PITY EVEN FOR PREGNANT FEMALES (PETITION)
- DEATH OF A WHALE. 30 PLASTIC BAGS IN THE STOMACH (PHOTO)
- WHALE HUNTING: SEA SHEPHERD TRIES TO STOP THE MASSACRE IN JAPAN
Although federal law currently imposes strict rules on the distance to be kept, fishermen don't always care. In the past, researchers from Frontiers in Marine Science said immediate action was needed. And while initially regulatory interventions by the United States and Canada, such as slowing ship speeds, appeared to have been successful, in reality the accidents have not diminished.
But the whales are not only threatened by accidents, but also by the quality of the water in which the cetaceans swim. In fact, pollution and climate change influence reproductive activity.
Dominella Trunfio
