New whale species on the brink of extinction

A new species of whale, discovered last year in the Gulf of Mexico, is already on the brink of extinction.

The whale, known as Rice or the Gulf of Mexico whale, is an animal that was long thought to be Bride’s whale until the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identified it as a new species of baleen whale in January 2021. However, only about 50 individuals are known to have survived, and researchers believe offshore oil and gas drilling methods are to blame. About 20 percent of the population may have died during the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.

A large team of scientists are now sounding the alarm about a potential loss that could be “the first man-made extinction of a large whale species.”

Rice whales can weigh up to 600,000 pounds, grow up to 42 feet long and live up to 60 years.

In a letter sent to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, scientists note that this is the only large species of whale that lives in US waters year-round.

Scientists blame the exploration and development of fossil fuels in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which violates the habitat of animals and unknowingly kills them.

Continued oil and gas development poses “a clear existential threat to the survival and recovery of whales,” scientists say, citing the implications of far-reaching airgun research and oil spills. The letter mentions the Deepwater Horizon spill, which dumped 134 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf on April 20, 2010. This view is also affected by noise from seismic oil and gas exploration, “which dominates the acoustic environment in much of the North Bay.”

“Blowgun filming has far-reaching consequences for baleen whales, including masking biologically important sounds and disrupting activities vital for feeding and reproduction over large areas of the ocean,” the scientists write.

Another danger lies in several shipping lanes crossing the waters, as Rice’s whales rest at night within 49 feet of the surface.

“One of the stranded whales, a lactating female, was found with injuries consistent with blunt force trauma; another, a free-swimming whale, showed spinal deformities consistent with collision trauma,” the letter says.

Although only 50 individuals of Rice’s whales are known, scientists are still hopeful that the species can be saved because the whales are still breeding, and previous sightings of baleen whales suggest that populations could recover if the environment improves.

“But the Gulf of Mexico whales are on the verge of extinction, and action is urgently needed to reduce mortality and serious injury, as well as to mitigate the effects of… stress,” the letter says.

The only way to save the whales, scientists say, is to stop using the bay for offshore wind farms or oil and gas exploration, urging officials to ban drilling within and outside the whales’ habitat.

Christina DENISYUK.

Source dailymail.co.uk

Photo: @AP