Overview
- NOAA and New England Aquarium confirmed the partial carcass found Jan. 27 about 25 miles off Avon, N.C., was a 4-year-old male known as Division.
- Division was first seen in his latest entanglement on Dec. 3 with fishing line wrapped around his head and mouth, and he was last spotted alive Jan. 21 off Cape Hatteras.
- Responders removed some gear in December, but worsening weather and the whale’s distance from shore prevented a full disentanglement.
- The entanglement cut into his blowhole and embedded in his upper jaw, and scientists documented declining health after weeks of injury.
- Officials say this is the first detected North Atlantic right whale death since May 2024, with fewer than 400 whales remaining and entanglements and vessel strikes the leading threats.