Abstract In the early weeks of January 2026, a singular biological event unfolded in the chilling waters of Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, that has forced marine biologists and oceanographers to reconsider established models of cetacean habitat usage in the warming Northwest Atlantic. On January 10, 2026, aerial observers from the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) documented an aggregation of thirty-three North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) engaged in subsurface