BOSTON GLOBE • January 13, 2023
Spindle, a North Atlantic right whale estimated to be at least 41 years old, was spotted last weekend swimming alongside her 10th calf. That makes Spindle the right whale with the most known calves on record. Just a few hundred miles away on Sunday, researchers spotted Spindle’s unnamed 4-year-old daughter. Unlike her mother, she was feeble. She had fishing line wrapped around her mouth and tail, cutting into her skin and trailing behind her in the water. The New England Aquarium said she will likely die from her wounds. It’s a family portrait that reflects the state of the critically endangered species whose population has dwindled to just 340 whales. Researchers blame entanglement in fishing lines and ropes as the main cause of the species’ decline. More than 86 percent of right whales have been entangled at least once.