One of world’s most endangered large whale species spotted swimming with calf in rare footage

Quarter of North Atlantic right whale population spotted in Cape Cod

A North Atlantic right whale and her calf were spotted in Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts last week.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution posted the footage to YouTube and says it shows a right whale called Spindle feeding and swimming with her calf, according to Storyful.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries lists the North Atlantic right whale as one of the world’s most endangered large whale species.

“The latest preliminary estimate suggests there are fewer than 350 remaining, with fewer than 70 breeding females. The number of new calves born in recent years has been below average,” according to the NOAA.

The critically-endangered species usually travels to the New England coast in the spring.

According to a report from the Boston Globe, a quarter of the total population was spotted off the coast of Cape Cod last week.

NOAA reported that North Atlantic right whales face various threats to their survival, including entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes and climate change, which “may alter their migratory patterns and feeding areas — and the impacts of ocean noise on their ability to communicate, find food, and navigate.”