9781422279151

recognized it as Punctuation’s calf. They examined the body and found the calf had several broken bones as well as slashes on its body from ship propellers. The area where Punctuation’s calf died has heavy ship- ping traffic. Even though large ships are required to travel slowly—less than 10 knots (11 mph/18 kph)—it’s still very risky for the whales. It was a terrible loss, especially since North Atlantic right whales only give birth once every three to five years. The species was hunted close to extinction by the 1930s. Even though they have now been protected for close to 80 years, they have not rebounded. Although there are similar stories of marine mammals in trouble all over the world, there is good news, too. There are just as many stories of the ways people are helping them.

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