February 10, 2014 — A North Atlantic right whale who surprised researchers more than a year ago when she appeared with a newborn calf in Cape Cod Bay has been seen again for the first time since April.
Wart the whale was spotted in the bay Saturday afternoon by researchers with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies during a regular aerial survey, according to a press release from the center.
Wart's calf, which was estimated to be 2 weeks old when the pair was first spotted in the bay in January 2013, was not with her, but that's not unusual after a year, said Charles "Stormy" Mayo, director of the center's right whale research program.
"That would not be a surprise," he said.
The birth of a right whale in local waters is rare and has never been documented by center researchers, who have been collecting data on the animals' visits to the area since 1984, Mayo said. The endangered whales typically give birth in warmer waters off Georgia and Florida.
Wart and her calf were last seen in April feeding near Plymouth. Wart is believed to be in her 40s and was freed from an entanglement by the center's Marine Animal Entanglement Response team in stages during a three year period from 2008-2010.
Another whale was seen near Wart on Saturday but it did not appear to be her calf, said Center for Coastal Studies spokeswoman Cathrine Macort.