BOSTON (AP) -
Endangered North Atlantic right whales are beginning their annual migration to New England’s waters, aquarium officials in Boston said Monday
Philip Hamilton, a research scientist at the New England Aquarium, said sightings of the whales have increased along the Massachusetts coast in recent days.
The whales congregate every spring in Cape Cod Bay to feed on rich blooms of zooplankton before continuing on to feeding grounds further north. A number of the whales are coming from southeastern U.S. waters, where females give birth, according to the aquarium.
Hamilton said that in a time of great uncertainty in the world, it is reassuring to see the whales feeding off Massachusetts “as they have for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”
The aquarium says commercial whaling brought the species to the brink of extinction. There are roughly 400 right whales thought to be alive today.
It also reminds boaters that federal guidelines mandate they stay at least 500 yards away from the animals.
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