2025–2026 North Atlantic Right Whale Mother and Calf Pairs

From November through April, during “calving season,” right whales and their young can be spotted together in the waters off the Southeastern coast of the United States, where the whales migrate to give birth. During this time, researchers on and above the water keep their eye out for whale mothers and their calves, a hopeful sight for the survival of these critically endangered marine animals.

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population has continued to gradually increase, rising again in number according to estimates from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. The estimate for 2024 is 384 (+10/-9 for range of error), representing a 2.1 percent increase in population size from the 2023 estimate, which was recalculated as 376 (+4/-3).

After reaching a low of 358 individuals in 2020, the upward trend is encouraging for scientists, who emphasized that continued protections are needed to continue growing the population. Researchers at our Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, from right whale biologists conducting research via boats and planes to working in the laboratory to study right whale health and hormones, are working diligently to learn more about and conserve this species.

Throughout the calving season, right whale researchers manage a detailed list of mom and calf pairs with biographical information that includes photographs, lineage, where the whales were last seen, how they were named, and the challenges each whale has faced. This data comes from the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, which is maintained by researchers with the Aquarium.

Calving season ends as the whales move back north for the spring and summer.

Meet this year’s mother and calf pairs below, and learn more about what you can do to help protect right whales here.

Recent Sightings

Champagne – Catalog #3904

Birth year: 2009
Age: 17 years old
Last calving year: 2021
Previous calves: Wall-E (Catalog #5104)
Other known relatives: Parents, 8 siblings, 5 nieces & nephews
Direct human impacts: 5 entanglements
Human impacts on family members: 21 entanglements

On November 28, 2025, the first mom-calf pair of the season were seen of the coast of South Carolina!
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s South Carolina-based team spotted Champagne (Catalog #3904) with her second known calf. Champagne was born in 2009 to prolific mother Spindle (Catalog #1204), who has 10 known calves, and fathered by Catalog #1050. She was named for the clustered circular parts of the callosity pattern on her head that look like bubbles. This is Champagne’s second calf; the first, Wall-E, who was just named last year, was born in 2021. This five-year calving interval is promising when the more recent average has been closer to 10 years.

Being a calf of such a productive mom means Champagne has many siblings, with at least nine on her mom’s side, though only six have been cataloged. She also has two more siblings on her father’s side. Of her immediate family, nine of them have a total of 26 entanglements. Champagne has very notable scars from her five entanglement events but seems to be doing well. Cheers to what is hopefully just the first of many calves this season!