WHALES

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Clearwater Marine Aquarium has opened its newest educational exhibit, Whales: Living With Giants. According to the aquarium’s website, guests will come head-to-head with whales through educational multi-media exhibits, an undersea virtual reality experience, walk-through life-size whale gallery and an interactive kid’s zone. Virtual Reality Dive at Whales: Living with Giants exhibit (Clearwater Marine Aquarium)The virtual reality experience, which requires an additional ticket add-on, was created by an Emmy Award-winning documentary team. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a non-profit organization that has a mission of preserving the environment while inspiring others through leadership in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine life; environmental education; research; and conservation. Whales: Living with Giants will be open through Aug. 31.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – A right whale and calf were spotted by News 6 viewer Betty Gardner Gonzalez on Friday near South Shores condominiums. Adult right whales can grow to be up to 52 feet in length and can weigh upwards of 70 tons. In the simplest terms, baleen whales don’t have teeth, instead they have something called baleen plates. The whale then pushes the water out through the baleen, and animals such as krill and zooplankton stay behind. According to National Ocean Service, researchers estimate that there are only about 400 North Atlantic right whales remaining, and fewer than 100 breeding females.

Two right whales and their calves were spotted last week off the coast of Northeast Florida. So far, there have been seven calves sighted this right whale season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Southeast. On Friday, a right whale known as Minus One and her new calf were sighted off South Ponte Vedra Beach, according to reporting from News4Jax. A right whale known as ‘Minus One’ is a mom again! Right whales are an endangered species that usually migrate south along the Georgia and Florida coastline to give birth to their calves.

Vilano Beach, Fla – The Clearwater Marine Aquarium said Tuesday that the first right whale calves of the season have been spotted off the coasts of Florida and Georgia. She knew in that moment it was a North Atlantic right whale calf. The second live right whale calf of the season was spotted (swimming with a pod of bottlenose dolphins) off Vilano Beach, FL by FWC December 6. (Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute)The right whale is a federally protected endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Researchers estimate there are less than 400 North Atlantic right whales left in the population, with fewer than 100 breeding females left.