Which whales are endangered 2018

Entanglement and deadly collisions can cause massive, devastating injuries to the animals. Many scientists believe that climate change is partly to blame for the uptick in right whale deaths. The whales typically migrate in the summer from their calving grounds in Georgia and Florida to the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy.

As the ocean warms, however, copepod populations have shifted north, causing the whales to follow their food source further north to the Gulf of St.

Scientists suspect that an average of 17 calves per year need to be born for the population to grow, as Brigit Katz reported for Smithsonian magazine last year. However, studies show that birth rates for female right whales have declined dramatically over the last few years. Fewer than sexually mature right whales were estimated to exist in the wild in , according to the IUCN.

Humpback dolphins were originally all classified as one species, but over the years more and more evidence has been found to show that in fact there are four distinct species and one sub-species. Not great news for any of these guys. A lot of the evidence that enabled the committee to make this assessment was the result of many years of research undertaken by WDC.

However, I have to say that this has caused some consternation in the conservation world as it was a commonly held belief that both species are actually in trouble. Both are Arctic dwellers, both are hunted for human consumption and both are facing a multitude of threats. Surely we need to try to learn everything we can about these magical and beautiful beings before there are none left to learn from?

Recently, efforts to save the whales have resulted in new restrictions on U. The rules are designed to reduce the number of rope lines that link buoys to lobster and crab traps, and went into effect this year.

However, the rules also resulted in a flurry of lawsuits , and a federal judge ruled this month that fishermen can continue to fish until further notice in an area off the coast of Maine that had been slated for restriction from their gear.

Sections U. Science Technology Business U. Endangered whale population sinks close to year low. The population of North Atlantic right whales has dipped to the lowest level in two decades, according to the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. AP analysis: Exposure to extreme heat has tripled since