Right whale newborn found on Fla. beach

January 28th, 2008 in Biology /

Researchers are looking for the reason a newborn North Atlantic right whale with umbilical cord still attached washed up on a Florida beach.

State wildlife officials loaded the 15-foot-long carcass weighing more than 1,500 pounds onto a trailer and took it to the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine to determine the cause of death Saturday, the South Fla. Sun-Sentinel reported.

Right whales, which got their name because they were particularly easy and profitable to hunt, hover close to extinction with a worldwide population of about 300, the newspaper said. Researchers said they hope clues from the carcass's necropsy will aid conservation efforts.

"Right whale newborn found on Fla. beach." January 28th, 2008. http://phys.org/news120714427.html