Less than a week into the North Atlantic right whale calving season, two newborn whales have been spotted, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources reports.

Millipede (right whale catalog No. 3520) and her calf were seen about 4 nautical miles from the mouth of the St. Marys River near the Georgia/Florida line Dec. 3, 2025. This was the season’s second sighting of a mom and calf pair in the Southeast. Millipede is 21 years old and this is her third documented calf. (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit 26919)

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Researchers maintain a catalog of North Atlantic right whales that aids in identifying them and tracking their family trees. Researchers, including scientists at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, collect skin and blubber samples from whales to add information to the catalog. That’s how we know that Champagne has at least 11 siblings, nine on her maternal side and two on her paternal side. Her mom, Spindle, is the most prolific right whale in the known population, having given birth to 10 calves, and counting.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute team flies its aerial surveys along the coast as weather permits from Nov. 15 to mid-March. They coordinate with Georgia DNR researchers on the water.