http://www.boston.com/news/science/gallery/051008right_whale_birth/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed4
from boston.com; celebrating a very special whales's birth
This is a wonderful story of survival of a right whale calf, a severely endangered species, while the mother is giving birth. She had travelled 1000 miles to give birth, fasting most of the way. Scientists happened to be in the area when the birth of the 2000 lb.,12' long calf was born off the coast of FL, on Jan.1, 2005. They were flying overhead counting whales in the area, in hopes of preventing injuries or deaths, from collisions with ships, which have been increasing.
By pure luck, New England Aquarium observers were able to photogragh the birth itself, the 1st time anyone is known to have captured images of a right whale giving birth. (Don't miss checking out the photos on the links provided above.)
Researcher Monica Zeni, said, "It was amazing to see." She spotted the whale from a survey plane, on Jan. 1, 2005. She and other researchers waited to release the photos to the public until they could be published in the journal, "Aquatic Mammals" which came out this week, April, 2008.
"Re:Funny water:" They looked down and saw what is called "funny water" a rippling dark sea, indicating a whale just below, or at the surface. "There was lots of blood in the water," Zeni said, fearing a ship collision, noting that there are only about 350 right whales left in the world.
Mom is identified as Right Whale,#1632, nicknamed "Cat's Paw."
because of a small white scar on her shoulder. "It was all happening so fast, and we were up 1000ft., and traveling at 100mph, and she was making a lot of
white water. She was moving in a steady rythmic way About 3 mins later, I saw the whale surface with the calf draped across her back.(Yeehah!) 
The mother lifted herself out of the water so the calf could draw its first
breath.
A few minutes later the group could see the mother and calf
swimming side by side. It looked as though the 2 were in the traditional nursing position. The leviathons are protected by federal law, but many have been injured or
killed by ship strikes, or by being caught in fishing gear. Zeni has been peppered with questions since the sightings, college academia hoping to gain some
insight into the heavily studied still mysterious creatures.
ie, Did she see a placenta? If so, did the placenta float? (If the pacenta had floated , it could have attracted sharks, that would have harmed the whales.) Zeni did not see sharks. Were there other whales around? No. Zeni only saw the 2. The team pondered what to name the whale calf, and finally named it "Resolution," in part to honor its birth on New Year's Day, '05.
The release of this information this week, ties in nicely with our own wonderful news of the highly regarded "Ocean Alliance" aquiring the Paint Factory.
And I am thinking of other local people who've done so
much, sometimes at great personal risk, and expense, to protect whales, and their global environments. They may think they're forgotten, but defintiely
not! "Resolution" and Right whale mom, #1632, thank you very much. Please share you own local experiences with whales surfacing underneath your sailboats, or other recreational craft. oops! 
from boston.com; celebrating a very special whales's birth
This is a wonderful story of survival of a right whale calf, a severely endangered species, while the mother is giving birth. She had travelled 1000 miles to give birth, fasting most of the way. Scientists happened to be in the area when the birth of the 2000 lb.,12' long calf was born off the coast of FL, on Jan.1, 2005. They were flying overhead counting whales in the area, in hopes of preventing injuries or deaths, from collisions with ships, which have been increasing.
By pure luck, New England Aquarium observers were able to photogragh the birth itself, the 1st time anyone is known to have captured images of a right whale giving birth. (Don't miss checking out the photos on the links provided above.)
Researcher Monica Zeni, said, "It was amazing to see." She spotted the whale from a survey plane, on Jan. 1, 2005. She and other researchers waited to release the photos to the public until they could be published in the journal, "Aquatic Mammals" which came out this week, April, 2008.
"Re:Funny water:" They looked down and saw what is called "funny water" a rippling dark sea, indicating a whale just below, or at the surface. "There was lots of blood in the water," Zeni said, fearing a ship collision, noting that there are only about 350 right whales left in the world.
Mom is identified as Right Whale,#1632, nicknamed "Cat's Paw."
because of a small white scar on her shoulder. "It was all happening so fast, and we were up 1000ft., and traveling at 100mph, and she was making a lot of
white water. She was moving in a steady rythmic way About 3 mins later, I saw the whale surface with the calf draped across her back.(Yeehah!) The mother lifted herself out of the water so the calf could draw its first
breath. A few minutes later the group could see the mother and calf
swimming side by side. It looked as though the 2 were in the traditional nursing position. The leviathons are protected by federal law, but many have been injured or
killed by ship strikes, or by being caught in fishing gear. Zeni has been peppered with questions since the sightings, college academia hoping to gain some
insight into the heavily studied still mysterious creatures.
ie, Did she see a placenta? If so, did the placenta float? (If the pacenta had floated , it could have attracted sharks, that would have harmed the whales.) Zeni did not see sharks. Were there other whales around? No. Zeni only saw the 2. The team pondered what to name the whale calf, and finally named it "Resolution," in part to honor its birth on New Year's Day, '05.
The release of this information this week, ties in nicely with our own wonderful news of the highly regarded "Ocean Alliance" aquiring the Paint Factory.
And I am thinking of other local people who've done so
much, sometimes at great personal risk, and expense, to protect whales, and their global environments. They may think they're forgotten, but defintiely
not! "Resolution" and Right whale mom, #1632, thank you very much. Please share you own local experiences with whales surfacing underneath your sailboats, or other recreational craft. oops!
