N Atlantic Right Whales May Face Extinction After No New Births Recorded

"Declining fertility and rising mortality, exacerbated by fishing industry, prompts experts to warn whales could be extinct by 2040"

"The dwindling North Atlantic right whale population is on track to finish its breeding season without any new births, prompting experts to warn again that without human intervention, the species will face extinction.

Scientists observing the whale community off the US east coast have not recorded a single mother-calf pair this winter. Last year saw a record number of deaths in the population. Threats to the whales include entanglement in lobster fishing ropes and an increasing struggle to find food in abnormally warm waters.

The combination of rising mortality and declining fertility is now seen as potentially catastrophic. There are estimated to be as few as 430 North Atlantic right whales left in the world, including just 100 potential mothers."

Joanna Walters reports for the Guardian February 27, 2018.