The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is investigating the latest death of a right whale. This time the whale was found washed up on the shore of Nashawena Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands.
“Tragically, [Monday] we received a report of a dead North Atlantic right whale on Nashawena Island, south of Cape Cod,” Brian Sharp, a marine mammal research manager, said. “The whale is very decomposed but our team is putting forth every effort, alongside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to try to determine the cause of death. With this 16th confirmed mortality the North Atlantic right whale population has experienced an alarming number of deaths in 2017. Time is of the essence and we must work together to determine how to best protect this critically endangered species.”
This is the second time a right whale has been discovered dead in this area. In August, IFAW investigated the death of a whale found floating in Edgartown Great Pond. A necropsy was performed on that whale after it was pulled onto South Beach.
There are only about 500 right whales left and this year has been particularly hard on the endangered species.
During an interview in August, Charles “Stormy” Mayo, a senior scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, reacted to the death of the whale, saying: “A right whale is such a rare creature, even if you have one it’s a big deal.”