It’s not unusual for whales to make headlines around here, but the past couple of months have brought a stream of bad news. In May, a dead minke whale washed up in Maine, followed by the humpback known as Snow Plow in late June. Then, a fin whale carcass showed up on Martha's Vineyard just in time for Fourth of July. A necropsy has confirmed that a baby right whale - one of fourteen calves this year - was killed by a ship strike. Several whales have also been released from entanglements in fishing gear, but the most recent individual may still lose its tail flukes as a result. The only unabated good news was a rare sighting of an orca last week off Chatham.
Guest: Doug Sandilands - Rescue Associate, Marine Animal Entanglement Response team at the Center for Coastal Studies