Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Fundraising
  • Green Whale
  • Kids blogs
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
Dolphin in Brazil helping with fishing illustration

Dolphins and fishermen working together

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Gray whale (eschrichtius robustus) Gray whale in Ojo de liebre lagoon Baja California.

Why we’re walking for whales to save the world

We've got enormous ambitions when it comes to fighting climate breakdown, and so two members...
Dolphins with keepers in the new Windsor Safari Park. Image: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Three decades on from UK’s last dolphin show, what needs to change?

The UK hasn't had captive whales and dolphins on display for 30 years, but it's...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...
Whale evolution cover

How did whales end up living in the ocean?

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Fishers chatting

Scottish fishers working with us to reduce risks to whales

Small changes to fishing gear could make a big difference to whales around Scotland, and...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
tins of whale meat

How Japan’s whaling industry is trying to convince people to eat whales

Japan's hunters kill hundreds of whales every year despite the fact that hardly anyone in...

Right Whale Obituary Series: Reyna

Reyna the Right Whale

In 2004, the day before Thanksgiving, Reyna was struck and killed by a large ship off the Virginia coast. She was 15 years old and ten months pregnant with her first calf, which was another female; Reyna was going to give birth to a daughter.

Reyna was born in 1989 in Florida to her mother, named Rat. Reyna is survived by her mother and four brothers. Reyna spent her early summers with her mother in Cape Cod Bay before moving to the Bay of Fundy as an adult. She spent winters in Florida and Georgia until her death.

Despite a lifelong struggle with scoliosis, Reyna was the epitome of strength and beauty throughout her life. In 2009, Reyna – the Spanish word for “queen”- received her name from a New Bedford fifth-grader.

She now rests in a place of honor with her daughter at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Her remains were delivered to the museum with great fanfare, having been driven through a blizzard from North Carolina. Thousands of ships will pass through Reyna’s home waters from the Bay of Fundy to Florida every year and pose a further risk to her family and friends. 

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting your support of the continuation of the NA Right Whale Ship Strike Speed Rule to prevent these tragic incidents from continuing.

Here is a picture of the skeleton of Reyna’s calf, on display with the skeleton of her mother in the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

About George Berry

George is a member of WDC's Communications team and website coordinator.