Help launch the first underwater film of mothers and their newborns and give the world a reason to protect them.

Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales remain. Every winter, a handful of mothers travel more than a thousand miles to the waters off Georgia and Florida, trusting these calm seas as the place to bring new life into the world. For decades we have watched them only from above—from planes, boats, and the surface. We have never entered their world to see how a mother rests, communicates, or guides her calf through those first critical weeks.

That is about to change. National Geographic Explorers Jennie Berglund and Brian Skerry are leading a first-of-its-kind expedition to film these whales beneath the surface during calving season. NOAA has committed a research vessel. Unprecedented permits are in hand. Scientists will gather new data while the cameras capture moments no one has witnessed before. The resulting documentary has the power to introduce millions of people to a species they have never truly known—and to build the public will needed to keep them alive.

We have already secured the first $100,000. Now we need your help to raise the remaining funds and launch this ambitious effort. A gift today places filmmakers and scientists in the whales’ winter nursery and brings their hidden lives into the light. When people finally see what has always been just beyond our view, they will understand why these whales are worth fighting for.