Unusual southern right whale deaths in Patagonia prompt scientific probe

Scientists have opened an investigation into an unusually high number of southern right whale deaths along the Atlantic coast of Argentina in Patagonia, UPI reported on October 26. Researchers are concerned by the deaths, which affect calves, juveniles, and adults. [1]

Dead calves have been documented since June in Península Valdés, according to UPI. The region along the Atlantic coast of Argentina is a location where southern right whales gather annually to give birth and nurse their young during their first months of life. In recent weeks, dead juvenile and adult whales have also been discovered near Puerto Madryn, a coastal city in the Chubut province of Argentina. [1]

The southern right whale is a large baleen whale found across the Southern Hemisphere, inhabiting oceans between the latitudes of 20° and 60° south. The species features a broad back without a dorsal fin, a long arching mouth, and white growths called callosities on its head. [3]

Southern right whales were previously hunted for hundreds of years to near extinction, but the species is now protected. A 2009 estimate placed the global population of southern right whales at around 13,600. [3]