Riley, the Right Whale and His Friend, Kyle

The story of Riley the Right Whale mimics a true story of Snow Cone and her baby calf. Snow Cone gave birth to a male calf while she was entangled in ropes and nets. FWC removed some of the ropes hindering Snow Cone, but they were not able to free her entirely and she was forced to swim and care for her calf while entangled. Snow Cone and her baby were sighted near Jacksonville in December of 2021 and on January 13, 2022, she was spotted with her calf off the coast of Flagler Beach where they documented the entanglement. She is not doing well as the rope is embedded in her upper jaw and wrapped around her mouth area. No one has seen Snow Cone since October of 2022. The chances of her survival are not good. This is bad news for our beloved North Atlantic Right Whales, who are literally struggling to survive and fighting for their place in our Oceans. Snow Cone is not alone.