Right Whale

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Scientific Name:

                                       Eubalaena spp.

Size:

            --- northern right whales females grow to be about 50 feet long, males are about 49 feet long
            --- they weigh approximately 120,000 pounds
            --- southern right whale females are about 54 feet long, males are about 50 feet long
            --- the females are slightly larger than males, as with all baleen whales

Food & Feeding:

                                     --- right whales (like all baleen whales) are seasonal feeders and carnivores
                                                        that filter feed plankton and tiny crustaceans like copepods, krill, pteropods,
                                                       etc., from the water
                                                 --- right whales are skimmers, filter feeders that swim slowly with their mouth
                                                       open, constantly eating
                                                 --- on occasion, they are also bottom feeders, eating prey from the mud on the
                                                        ocean floor
                                                 --- the fine baleen hairs can filter out very tiny prey including copepods,
                                                       steropods, euphasiids  and mysids (tiny crustaceans).
                                                 --- the right whales have about 200-270 pairs of black baleen plates with
                                                        gray-black to white bristles hanging from the jaws
                                                 --- the baleen is long and very fine; baleen plates are up to 9.5 feet  long

Social Groups:

                                      --- right whales only long-term bonds are between mother and calf

World Population:

                                      --- northern right whales are near to extinction due to past hunting pressures
                                                     and are an endangered species
                                              --- it is estimated that there are 500-1,000 northern right whales alive and they
                                                    are near extinction
                                              --- the southern whales are more abundant (there are perhaps 3,000 alive) but
                                                    are vulnerable to extinction and are also an endangered species.