Medusa, a mother right whale, estimated to be 42 years old, was scouted with her calf off the coast of St. Catherines Sound, Georgia, on Dec. 7, 2022, by a survey team from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute. The mother-calf encounter was the first of this 2022-23 calving season.
So far, a baker’s dozen of calves have been identified this season in a joint inter-agency conservation effort. With an estimated fewer than 70 reproductively active female right whales in existence, conservationists say many more births are needed for a rebound.
