Dear MARMAM community,

My co-authors and I are pleased to share our recent publication in Marine Mammal Science entitled First record of an unsuccessful parturition of a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) at Península Valdés, Argentina

Sironi M., Marón C., Pettite, L., Guevara, J., Martorell J.P., Rowntree V. 2019. First record of an unsuccessful parturition of a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) at Península Valdés, Argentina. Marine Mammal Science. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12594

We report a likely unsuccessful parturition of a southern right whale at Península Valdés, Argentina. Observations were made during a whale watch trip. During labor, the calf’s tailstock emerged from its mother, but later most of its body returned back inside. The calf did not move and the mother´s behavior could be described as unusual. The cow was later seen alone and then, in a mating group. We presume her calf was born dead or died shortly after birth. This is the first known observation of an apparent unsuccessful birth in a mysticete species in the wild.

The paper can be accessed here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12594

Kind regards,

Dr. Mariano Sironi

Scientific Director
Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas – Argentina