Whale mother of 10 spotted with new calf, but 4-year-old daughter in grave danger

BOSTON - A critically endangered right whale mother of 10 has been spotted with her newest calf, but the news on another one of her offspring is not so encouraging.

Mom Spindle is at least 41 years old and has 10 known calves, New England Aquarium researchers say - a record among her at-risk species. An aerial survey team photographed Spindle with her latest calf last week off the coast of Georgia.

The bad news, however, is that a 4-year-old daughter of Spindle is in trouble. On January 8, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium team found the "heavily entangled" whale off North Carolina with a fishing line wrapped around her mouth and tail, along with "numerous wounds" on her body.

"Spindle is a clear example of the species' mix of hope and threats," said NEAQ senior scientist Philip Hamilton in a statement. "She is the most productive mother to date, singularly responsible for at least 10 calves in her lifetime, and yet the risk of losing even one of her calves, especially a female, has a big impact for the species overall."  

NOAA experts believe the 4-year-old whale's injury is serious and she is likely to die. They are working to figure out if it will be possible to try disentangling her.

"The entanglement and likely death of this young female is even more tragic when you consider that a reproductive female can have more than 20 progeny in her life (calves and all those related to those calves)," Hamilton said.

The right whale population is believed to be less than 350, and the aquarium says entanglements in fixed fishing gear is the main reason for the declining numbers.