In addition to the potential mating behavior described above, there is evidence that calving may be occurring north off Isla de Chiloé. A mother with a young calf was recorded nearshore on 22 October 2010 at 41º27′S, 73º51′W, about 18

nmi north of Isla de Chiloé. The video was reviewed by southern right whale experts,12 who reported that the smaller whale had the typical head shape of a calf, and that its body length appeared to be less than half of its mother’s body length. Other features that indicated that the smaller whale was a young calf were the shape of its blow holes, its wide back and its typical following behavior shown by young calves. Based on these observations, they agreed this animal was a calf born in 2010, and was probably <3 mo old. This is the southernmost record of mother-calf pair for this population. A possible birth occurred in central Chile (33º34′S, 71º48′W) in 1991, based on the sudden appearance of a small Selleck PD98059 calf with a female that was previously seen alone.3 Clarke (1965) also observed a female and calf pair off Cartagena (33º32′S, 71º37′W) in August 1964. Although the data are limited, one small area in southern Chile appears to be more utilized by right whales than previously thought. Sixteen sightings have been reported off Chile south of 40ºS, with six of them in a small area off northwestern

Isla de Chiloé and five of them south of Isla de Chiloé (Table 1). Isla de Chiloé is the northern limit of the Chilean fjord system and was a former whaling ground for southern Selleck SCH772984 right whales. Between 1830 and 1832, 91 British whaling vessels operated around Isla de Chiloé (Gay 1847). Today, fewer than 1,000 people live in the coastal area of northwestern Isla de Chiloé and only about 10% of

them are involved in marine activities such as fishing, making it significant that 6 (6%) of the 108 sightings off Chile and Peru since 1964 were in this small area. In addition, the fact that at least six different individuals MCE were recorded between 20 September and 21 October 2011 (Fig. 3), potential reproductive behavior has been observed, and the southernmost record of a female-calf pair was just 18 nmi north of Isla de Chiloé, strongly suggest that northwestern Isla de Chiloé is an important area, although with as yet undetermined boundaries. Coastal and marine large-scale development projects may negatively impact these southern right whales, through habitat loss, marine degradation, or even direct mortality. Laist et al. (2001) suggested that right whales may be more vulnerable to ship strikes than other species because of their behavior, such as skim feeding, nursing, and mating, which occur at the surface. Mothers and calves may be the most vulnerable because they spend more time at or near the surface than other classes of right whales. Further, North Atlantic right whales did not respond to the playback of ship sounds (Nowacek et al.