The animals also are threatened by entanglement with fishing gear and changing conditions in the oceans, including warmer temperatures fueled by climate change. Scientists say stress from entanglements and collisions are one reason the interval between female whales giving birth is more than twice as long as it used to be.
“There are so few right whales left that every death brings this species closer to extinction,” said Erica Fuller, a senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation.
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