MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass. (WWLP) – A North Atlantic Right Whale that was found dead off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard last Sunday has been identified as a calf that was known to be seriously injured by rope entanglement.
North Atlantic Right Whale found dead off Massachusetts coast
On Sunday afternoon, officials received a report of a dead whale on Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Martha’s Vineyard. The International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe were able to secure the whale and an autopsy was performed on Thursday.
Officials have identified the whale as “ calf #5120 ,” the only known calf to Squilla #3720 that was born during the 2021 calving season. The calf was first sighted on August 20, 2022 off the coast of Shippagan, New Brunswick with multiple wraps of line entangled around her tail and flukes. There were two small buoys attached to her flukes and an estimated 200 feet of line trailing behind her. The calf at the time was only one year old and the rope was likely to cause serious damage to her tail stock.