The 2024-25 North Atlantic right whale calving season is upon us! November through April every year brings the North Atlantic right whale south to their calving grounds. Amelia Island lies at the center of this area and we are always looking forward to their arrival each year!
The first mother-calf pair has been spotted! We will plan to keep this post updated as calves are spotted throughout the season!
Calf #1- Mother: Right whale Catalog #2413 ‘Nauset’
The first mother calf pair to be identified this season was right whale Catalog #2413 and her calf. ‘Nauset’ is named after her callosity pattern that resembles a Cape Cod lighthouse with the same name. The pair was spotted about 6 miles off Sapelo Island, Georgia on December 1, 2024. ‘Nauset’ is 31 years old, and this is her fifth known calf.
‘Nauset’ previously gave birth to female #3513 ‘Canaveral’ in 2005, a calf in 2011 that was not catalogued, female #4313 ‘Monomoy’ in 2013, and male #5113 in 2021.
Calf of right whale Catalog #2413 ‘Nauset’ slides off the back of its mother. The pair was sighted approximately 5 nautical miles off Blackbeard Island, Georgia on December 1, 2024.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit 26919.
Calf #2- Mother: Right whale Catalog #2430 ‘Minus One’
The second mother calf pair to be spotted this season was right whale Catalog #2430 and her calf. ‘Minus One’ was named for scars that looked like -1. This pair was spotted off Amelia Island, Florida on December 9, 2024. ‘Minus One’ is at least 31 years old and this is her fourth known calf.
‘Minus One’ previously gave birth to female #3730 ‘Spoon’ in 2007, to female #4030 in 2010 (who is presumed dead, last seen in 2017), and to female #5190 in 2021. Right whale Catalog #3730 ‘Spoon’ was last seen within the year, and right whale Catalog #5190 was last seen in 2022.
Calf of right whale Catalog #2430 ‘Minus One’ was sighted about 6 miles off of Amelia Island, Florida on December 9, 2024 with its mother.
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Survey funded by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and NOAA Fisheries.
Calf #3- Mother: Right whale Catalog # 4540
The third mother-calf pair of the season was spotted on December 18, 2024 by HDR, Inc. teams about 7 miles from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southern Virginia. Right whale #4540 is 12 years old and she is a first time mother!
Right whale #4540 is the daughter of right whale #1612 ‘Juno’. If you recall last year’s heartbreaking story from the first calf spotted last year, that was Juno’s calf who was struck by a vessel and died from the injuries from the strike.
Right whale #4540 and her first calf swimming off the coast of southern Virginia.
Credit: HDR, Inc., taken under NOAA permit #28184. Aerial and vessel surveys funded by the United States Fleet Forces Command, and managed by the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic under the U.S. Navy’s Marine Species Monitoring Program
Calf #4- Mother: Right whale Catalog # 3503 ‘Caterpillar’
The fourth mother-calf pair spotted this season was right whale #3503 ‘Caterpillar’ on December 30, 2024. They were spotted about 6 miles off Ponte Vedra, Florida by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission aerial survey team. ‘Caterpillar’ is 20 years old and this is her first known calf. (The 2nd first time mother for the year!).
‘Caterpillar’ is named after a caterpillar shaped scar on her lower right flank that was a result of a vessel strike when she was 2 years old.
North Atlantic right whale #3503 ‘Caterpillar’ and her first known calf swimming near Ponte Vedra, Florida. Her scar can be seen on the lower right hand side of her body.
Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Aerial survey funded by U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, the Army Corps of Engineers, and NOAA Fisheries.
Calf #5- Mother: Right whale Catalog #3540 ‘Black Heart’
The fifth mother-calf pair of the season was right whale #3540 ‘Black Heart’ on December 30, 2024 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission aerial survey team. The pair was spotted about 2 miles off Ponte Vedra, Florida. ‘Black Heart’ is 20 years old and she had her first calf 12 years ago. That calf has not been seen after its birth year.
‘Black Heart’ is named for the heart shaped bare spot at the front of her callosity.
North Atlantic right whale #3540 ‘Black Heart’ and her calf swimming near Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Aerial survey funded by U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, the Army Corps of Engineers, and NOAA Fisheries.
Calf #6- Mother: Right whale Catalog #1145 ‘Grand Teton’
The sixth mother-calf pair of the season was right whale #1145 ‘Grand Teton’ on January 16, 2025 by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s Georgia team. The pair was spotted 11.1 miles east of Amelia Island, Florida. ‘Grand Teton’ is more than 44 years old, a guess as she was first spotted with a calf in 1981!
‘Grand Teton’ has had 8 calves prior to her current calf! She previously gave birth to ‘Pele’ #1138, #1410, #2145, ‘Zion’ #3245, #3550, ‘Mayport’ #4094, #5145, and one uncataloged calf in 1996. She is one of only five right whales to have had nine or more calves since we started cataloging the whales. (Ten is the greatest number recorded- Spindle is the record holder!). She is also a 5 time grandmother!
‘Grand Teton’ gets her name from her callosities that look like the Grand Teton mountain range in Wyoming.
North Atlantic right whale #1145 ‘Grand Teton’ and her calf spotted east of Amelia Island, Florida on January 16, 2025.
Credit: Clearwater marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA Permit #26919. Funding source: Georgia DNR and NOAA Fisheries
Calf #7- Mother: Right whale Catalog #3705 ‘Check Mark’
The seventh mother-calf pair of the season was right whale #3705 ‘Check Mark’ on January 17, 2025. ‘Check Mark’ and her calf were spotted by the Florida FWC survey team 9 miles off Amelia Island, Florida. ‘Check Mark’ is 18 years old and this is her first known calf! (This is our third first time mother of the season!).
‘Check Mark’s’ mother is Catalog #2605 ‘Smoke’. ‘Smoke’ most recently gave birth in 2023 and has had seven calves.
‘Check Mark’ got her name from the shape of her tail, that looks like a check mark. Her tail shape is the result of a vessel strike that happened when she was six years old and a large chunk of her tail was sliced off.
North Atlantic right whale #3705 ‘Check Mark’ and her calf spotted off Amelia Island, Florida on January 17, 2025.
Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA Permit #26919. FWC Right whale aerial surveys are funded by USACE, USCG, US Navy, and NOAA Fisheries.
Calf # 8- Mother: Right whale Catalog #4150 ‘Accordian’
The eighth mother calf pair identified this season was right whale #4150 ‘Accordian on February 3, 2025. In an unexpected location, at the entrance of the shipping lanes to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the pair was spotted by the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center aerial survey team. This area is not in the typical calving grounds, and it is noted on the NOAA Fisheries website that ‘Accordian’ has also never been spotted in the traditional calving grounds. ‘Accordian’ is at least 14 years old as she was spotted for the first time in 2011 as a juvenile. This is her first known calf. (Our fourth first time mother of the season!)
’Accoridan’ received her name because of the marks on her back that were caused from a propeller from a vessel strike and now look like the musical instrument.
North Atlantic right whale #4150 ‘Accordian’ and her first calf swimming close to the shipping lanes at the entrance to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Credit: NOAA Fisheries, taken under NOAA permit #27066.
Calf # 9- Mother: Right whale Catalog #3292 ‘Cashew’
The ninth mother calf pair spotted this season was right whale #3292 ‘Cashew’ on February 5, 2025. About 7 miles off Nassau Sound, Florida, the pair was spotted by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute’s aerial survey team. ‘Cashew’ is 23 years old and this is her third known calf. Her male calf born in 2008 has been sighted in recent years, and her 2015 calf was never catalogued.
‘Cashew’ received her name because of the callosity at the tip of her head resembles a cashew nut.
North Atlantic right whale #3292 ‘Cashew’ and her 2025 calf swimming approximately 7 miles off Nassau Sound, Florida. Cashew is seen “cradling” her calf, a common mother-calf behavior in which the mother is belly up and the calf rests on or above her belly between her flippers.
Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919