Rainbows and Whales
We are a few months into a new field season which is always a busy time and the reason why our blog updates have been suffering. But we are kicking off this season’s intern blogs with Jess Simpson, who has brought so much joy and life to our office – hopefully she will do the same for you through her blog…..
I was half expecting a leprechaun to jump out of this humpback’s blowhole.
This trip to the US is also a first for me and I know definitely – it won’t be my last. Soon after arriving in Boston from London, I got on the P&B bus to arrive sleepy, but excited to WDCS’s North American office about an hour
My first week was full of office training, laughing and joining a gym that gives away free tootsies rolls. I just have to take a minute here – free tootsie rolls at a gym! Apparently it’s a judgement free zone, which is what they say when they give away free bagels and pizzas too. So after settling in, I quickly found myself on the Captain John boats training with past interns on how to take photos and data. Within a couple of trips, I had seen plenty of humpbacks, a few finback and minke whales, Atlantic white sided dolphins and to my luck a Northern Atlantic right whale. Seeing all these animals was incredible, but the right whale was something special, according tothe National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)there are less than 500 left in the world.
My right whale sighting was on my second day of training on the boats.We were slowly heading back to Plymouth harbor when the naturalist on board rushed up to the wheel
This reduced risk is crucial for these critically endangered animals because over 72% of their known moralities results from human activities, like entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes. One of the wonderful things about studying in the United States is the environmental laws here – including the Endangered Species Act, which requires endangered animals be allocated critical habitat. WDCS petitioned the US government to expand right whale critical habitat throughout their US range and while the government has indicated that the petition is warranted, we are waiting for their formal proposal.
Another thing I have learned and observed these past few months while collecting data and taking photographs of finbacks and humpbacks, aside from their grandeur, is the amount of scars these animals have…..usually as a result of entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes. I am not oblivious to these sorts of issues, but I hadn’t realized the extent to which marine mammals were being entangled. The work carried out at WDCS is so important and I am having the best summer interning with them and being a part of an organization that is making a difference in the conservation of these animals.
Also not everyone can say they get to watch whale’s everyday…especially ones blowing rainbows.