On Thursday, January 16, 2025 Clearwater Marine Aquarium spotted a right whale known as Grand Teton with her ninth known calf off the coast of Amelia Island, Florida.
This sighting marks the sixth calf spotted this right whale calving season, which runs yearly from December to March. Grand Teton, named for her callosity pattern that resembles the peaks of the Teton Range in Wyoming, is likely at least 50 years old and was first seen back in 1981. She is one of five right whales to have been catalogued with nine or more calves, and she’s also a five-time grandmother. Over her life, Grand Teton has faced and survived just two entanglements – a low number for a right whale her age. Just 10% of right whales are expected to live past the age of 47 due to dangers from vessel strikes and entanglements, so Grand Teton’s survival is exceptional.
Grand Teton’s family has not had the same luck in longevity of life. Grand Teton’s two known daughters, along with their offspring, are dead or presumed dead. Her daughter, Mayport, was last seen severely entangled in 2017, and in the same year, Grand Teton’s one-year-old granddaughter was presumed to be killed by a boat strike. More recently, in 2023, another one of Grand Teton’s granddaughters was spotted with two active entanglements. For this critically endangered species, these losses are big blows–with only 370 animals left in the world, North Atlantic right whales need as many moms as they can get.
Although Grand Teton’s family has faced too many challenges to count, this sighting represents a beacon of hope for the species. With only a small percentage of the right whale population living into their 50s and so few moms having this many calves, Grand Teton’s newest baby shows us the tremendous potential that female right whales have to bring many babies into the world if they are able to beat the odds and live long lives. We just need to protect them long enough for them to do so.
We wish the pair safe travels and hope that Grand Teton’s new calf will share her wisdom and long life.
