In the world of whale conservation, most scientists, researchers, environmentalists, and all around whale enthusiasts tend to have a favorite. For North Atlantic right whales, one in particular seems to always stand out; Calvin.
Calvin is a female right whale who was born in 1992. When Calvin was only 8 months old, her mother Delilah was struck by a boat. Delilah did not die instantly, but the force of the boat caused her to hemorrhage; where she violently thrashed with Calvin by her side until she passed away. Right whale mothers have very close bonds with their calves, and nurse, guide, and protect them for about 1-2 years. So with Calvin only at 8 months old and now motherless, her future looked bleak. Most researchers did not think Calvin would make it, but miraculously she did. Because of her independent nature and amusing behavior, she was named after the character in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.
According to the New England Aquarium Right Whale Catalog, Calvin was entangled in fishing gear in 2000, but thankfully disentangled by the Center for Coastal Studies in 2001. What’s even more alarming, is according to New England Aquarium’s scar coding analysis, her first entanglement was when she was only around 8 months old, at the time when she was just orphaned! Calvin has been through 6 total entanglements since, and her body bears scars from many of them.
Throughout all the chaos in Calvin’s life, a moment of light occurred when she birthed her first calf, Hobbes, in 2004. Calvin went on to birth 3 other calves, including one this year which was first spotted off the coast of Georgia with her. They made their journey north and were recently spotted off the coast of Cape Cod!
Calvin inspires hope for the survival of this species, and even inspired a teacher and school group to start the Calvineers, a group of student scientists who promote the conservation of right whales. The group stresses conservation and education for the protection of the whales, and works directly with marine scientists and legislators to discuss actions that can help the population rebound. They’re even the subject of an ongoing documentary by Southwest Harbor filmmaker Thom Willey. We were thrilled to be able to share an exhibit booth with The Calvineers at the World Marine Mammal Conference this past December.
It’s whales like Calvin that offer hope for the future of this species. And even though some of the events in Calvin’s life seem nightmarish, it is a reality most right whales face every day, with ship strikes and entanglements being their number one causes of death. We must all continue to do our part in protecting right whales, so that Calvin, her calves, and the rest of the species have a fighting chance.
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