An endangered North Atlantic right whale first spotted in 1989 was found dead off the Virginia coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Tuesday, with her most recent offspring missing.
HDR, Inc., a company conducting Mid-Atlantic whale surveys for the Navy, notified the NOAA of the mother’s carcass on Saturday about 50 miles off shore, east of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, NOAA officials announced in a news release.
The administration identified the female whale as #1950 − a mother from this year’s calving season.
“She was first seen in 1989 and gave birth to her sixth calf this winter. Her calf was not seen in the vicinity of the carcass,” Lauren Gaches, a NOAA spokesperson told USA TODAY on Wednesday.