Removing a thick fishing rope from a highly
fertile whale’s jaw was a priority for scientists who fear the species may be
in terminal decline
Oliver
Milman in
New York
Sun 22 Apr 2018 07.00 BSTLast
modified on Sun 22 Apr 2018 21.27 BST
A mission to disentangle a particularly
important North Atlantic right whale from a thick rope wrapped around its jaw
has proved a partial success, amid growing fears that the endangered species is
approaching a terminal decline.
The individual female whale, known as
Kleenex, is considered one of the most productive North Atlantic right whales
left in existence, having given birth to eight calves. Its condition has
deteriorated, however, since it was spotted off the coast of Delaware in 2014
with a thick fishing rope wrapped around its head and upper jaw.
Conservationists, aware that the right whale
population has dropped alarmingly due to a spike in deaths and a birth drought,
attempted to remove the rope last week, after Kleenex was seen near the
Massachusetts coast. A pursuing team used a crossbow to fire a bolt with razor
blades attached at the rope, but did not successfully sever it.
“The line was damaged and then the whale
became more evasive and the weather got worse, so that was our best go at it,”
said Bob Lynch, of conservation group Center for Coastal Studies, who was part
of the rescue team.
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