#14: Pico seen!

Last January, we reported on a very unusual and exciting sighting- a female right whale seen off the Azores. Shortly after the sighting, the whale, #3270, was given the name of Pico- the name of the island near where she was seen. Amazingly, the shape of the island matches the shape of Pico's bonnet (see picture below).

Because it is so unusual to see a whale from the western North Atlantic so far to the east, we all wondered when and where we would see her next. Well, three days ago, we got our answer. Pico was seen in a surface active group in the Bay of Fundy. Pico was first sighted in 2002 and has never given birth to a calf that we know of. We will be following her future sightings very closely! You can, too, at the right whale Catalog web site.

Philip

Photos:

1) Pico Island in the Azores south of which 3270 was sighted (Google maps)
2) Aerial photograph of Pico- right whale 3270 (Photo: NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center)
3) Pico in the Bay of Fundy on September 10, 2009 (New England Aquarium)