# Unknown baby right whale found off Quebec lifts year's calf count to 24

> Researchers photographed a previously unrecorded North Atlantic right whale calf off Anticosti Island, making this the most productive birthing season for the rare species since 2009.

- Published: 2026-11-07 by Tickety-Boo News
- Section: Animals
- Location: Quebec, Canada
- Web page: https://ticketyboonews.co.uk/stories/unknown-baby-right-whale-found-off-quebec-lifts-years-calf-count-to-24/
- Original report: [Scientists discovered an unknown baby right whale off Canada. They say it's a cause for joy](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-scientists-unknown-baby-whale-canada.html) (Phys.org)

## In brief

- Researchers photographed an unrecorded North Atlantic right whale calf off Anticosti Island, Quebec, in September.
- The calf, seen with its mother Silt, lifts this season's count to 24, the most since 2009.
- Only about 380 right whales remain, including roughly 70 reproductive-age females.

A North Atlantic right whale calf that nobody knew existed has turned up off Anticosti Island in Quebec, adding one more youngster to a season that was already a good one for this rare species.

Researchers in Canada photographed the unidentified calf in September. Specialists at the New England Aquarium in Boston studied the pictures alongside other records and concluded that it had probably been born months earlier, but went unnoticed during the winter surveys. At roughly 15,000 pounds (6,804 kilograms), it is no small thing to overlook.

The discovery brings the number of calves from the latest birthing season to 24. The aquarium says that makes it the most productive year since 2009 and the fourth-highest tally on record. Only about 380 right whales exist anywhere in the world.

The youngster was swimming beside Silt, a female aged 38 who is well known to researchers. She had been seen briefly in February 2026 in the calving grounds off the south-eastern United States. Amy Warren, a scientist at the aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center, said it is possible Silt gave birth there and slipped away before the two could be recorded together.

The calf was spotted by Mingan Island Cetacean Study, a nonprofit research organisation in Quebec's Côte-Nord region. Boat-based and aerial surveys along the US East Coast had failed to find it throughout spring and summer. Richard Sears, the group's founder and director, said the episode shows how vast the ocean is and how easily animals can vanish into it.

Right whales are so scarce that researchers photograph and catalogue them in great detail, so missing a newborn is unusual. Finding this one, so late in the year, has been a splendid surprise for the scientists involved.

## Why it matters

With only about 70 reproductive-age females left, the species relies on good calving seasons to remain viable. Numbers fell by about 25% between 2010 and 2020, and 2018 passed without a single birth. The population has regained some ground since 2020, so every extra calf counts. Collisions with large ships and entanglement in fishing gear remain serious dangers, and the young whale's future will depend on how well those threats are managed.