Entangled in fishing rope, she swam for hundreds of miles to her death.

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [North Atlantic right whale tangled © NOAA News Archive 123110 (CC BY 2.0 DEED)/Flickr]( Defender, In January 2021, a newborn right whale calf was first seen swimming with her mother near Georgia. The next year she was spotted off Massachusetts swimming independently, but by that summer she was seen entangled in over 200 feet of fishing rope near the Canadian shore. Over the next year and a half, she dragged this gear with her between U.S. and Canadian waters. She swam for hundreds of miles to her death, entangled in the rope that cut into her body and embedded into her tail as she grew larger. She finally washed up dead on Martha’s Vineyard in January 2024, having spent half her life suffering from the entanglement that finally killed her. With only about 360 North Atlantic right whales left, we cannot look away from this horror. [Donate today to join the fight to protect these endangered whales and other imperiled wildlife.]( [DONATE]( NOAA Fisheries recently confirmed that this fishing gear came from the Maine state lobster fishery. We’ve known for decades that fishing gear kills and injures whales, but industry lobbyists and their allies in Congress have constantly undermined sensible protections that could save these precious creatures. The time for their inaction and denial is over. We must rally together to fight back and demand life-saving protections. [Make a gift today and help defend whales!]( Thank you for all you do, Defenders of Wildlife [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 defenders.org --------------------------------------------------------------- Photo credit: North Atlantic right whale tangled © NOAA News Archive 123110 (CC BY 2.0 DEED)/Flickr This email was sent to {EMAIL} Please do not respond to this email. [Unsubscribe here]( or update your preferences [here!]( [supporter]