Right Whale Day Celebrated In Boston

WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel has more.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Humans have had a complicated relationship with the North Atlantic
right whale. At first, so.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Right whales were hunted longer than any other large whale species, but.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Now they're beloved enough to merit A gigantic inflatable facsimile
in front of the New England Aquarium, which was packed
for right Whale Day. The whales are critically endangered. Only
about three hundred and seventy were made in the wild.
They were actually on the upswing in the nineties, only
to backslide in recent years. Heather pettis as a scientist
that studies these whales, but what we've.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Seen is as climate change shifts the distribution of their prey.
They're really good at going to find their prey, but
what happens is they're moving into areas with little or
no protection.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
That's left the humans to urgently look for fixes. Many
of these whales are taken out by fishing gear and
boat strikes, but Heather is optimistic if everyone starts rowing
in the same direction.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
I think we have a responsibility to protect our oceans
and see their oceans thrive.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Kyle Shaffele w Busy Boston's news radio