From our friends at the New England Aquarium:

2025–2026 North Atlantic Right Whale Mother and Calf Pairs

Meet the 22 New Pairs Spotted so far this Season 

From November through April, during “calving season,” right whales and their young can be spotted together in the waters off the Southeastern coast of the United States, where the whales migrate to give birth. During this time, researchers on and above the water keep their eye out for whale mothers and their calves, a hopeful sight for the survival of these critically endangered marine animals.

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population has continued to gradually increase, rising again in number according to estimates from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. The estimate for 2024 is 384 (+10/-9 for range of error), representing a 2.1 percent increase in population size from the 2023 estimate, which was recalculated as 376 (+4/-3).

After reaching a low of 358 individuals in 2020, the upward trend is encouraging for scientists, who emphasized that continued protections are needed to continue growing the population. Researchers at our Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, from right whale biologists conducting research via boats and planes to working in the laboratory to study right whale health and hormones, are working diligently to learn more about and conserve this species.

Throughout the calving season, right whale researchers manage a detailed list of mom and calf pairs with biographical information that includes photographs, lineage, where the whales were last seen, how they were named, and the challenges each whale has faced. This data comes from the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, which is maintained by researchers with the Aquarium.

Calving season ends as the whales move back north for the spring and summer.

So far this season, 22 new mother and calf pairs have been sighted. Click here to learn more about what you can do to help protect right whales.