Experts baffled by unprecedented behavior of critically endangered whale species: 'How do you explain that?'

Something's not right with North Atlantic right whales. These critically endangered animals — just 372 are left — are showing up in places researchers never expected.

What's happening?

These whales used to follow a fairly steady path. They'd feed in Cape Cod Bay during the spring, move through the Gulf of Maine, and spend summer in the Bay of Fundy. But since around 2010, those patterns have unraveled. According to The Globe and Mail, they've started turning up in places like the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Canyon, even near busy ports off New York and Nantucket.

The shift has been deadly. In 2017, 17 whales died — most in Canadian waters. That year marked the beginning of what NOAA still calls an Unusual Mortality Event. Since then, 41 whales have died, and 39 more have been seriously injured. That's over 20% of the entire population.

Why is that concerning?

"We were always trailing behind the whales. It took us nearly five years to figure out they went to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and then the year when we went up there, then a bunch came back here [to the Bay of Fundy]. How do you explain that?" says Moira Brown, director of science at the Canadian Whale Institute in Campobello Island, N.B., according to The Globe and Mail.

Their main food, tiny plankton called copepods, is no longer reliable in the usual spots, so they've gone looking elsewhere.

But those new areas come with danger. Many are crowded with fast-moving ships and fishing gear that can wrap around a whale's body, making it hard to swim, feed, or even breathe.

"This population did grow to almost 500 whales, and then climate change came along, habitat shift came along," Brown told The Globe and Mail. "They've been hanging on by their flipper-tips for tens of decades."

Their lifespan has taken a hit, too. Southern right whales can live past 70. For North Atlantic right whales, the median is now just 22 years. That cuts into their chances to raise calves and rebuild the population.

This isn't just about whales. When an animal that's been around for millions of years is struggling to survive, it says something about what's happening to the ocean — and to us.

What's being done about it, and what can you do?

After the die-off in 2017, Canada stepped up with ship slowdowns, new traffic routes, and ropeless fishing gear trials. The U.S. tried to follow suit, but many changes got blocked.

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Support whale-safe fishing. Back rules that follow whales where they go. And invest in tracking tools that help us find them before it's too late.

If we all reduce our consumption and pollution output, we can help curb rising global temperatures and preserve the environment for ourselves and wildlife.

"They can claw their way back," Brown told The Globe and Mail. But only if we stop getting in their way.

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