Species - Right Whale
A baleen whale, scientists consider the Right (Balaena glacialis) to be the
most endangered of all whale species. In fact, the current worldwide total is
estimated to be about 1,000 individuals.
Large and a slow swimmer, the Right Whale's body is so rich in oil, it floats when dead (unlike the rorquals which have to be inflated to prevent them from sinking). This fact, coupled with its very high quality baleen, made it the "right" whale to hunt. The length of Right Whales averages about 50 ft. for both sexes. Adults weigh approximately 60 tons. It takes about 5 to 8 years for a female to reach sexual maturity and their 16-19 ft. calves are usually born only every three years.
The body of the Right Whale is somewhat rotund and lacks a dorsal fin. Its head is very large, about 25 percent of total body length in an adult, with an upper jaw that contains many baleen plates. These filtering plates, as much as 7 ft. long, are surpassed in length only by baleen of the Bowhead Whale.
Current Right Whale population distribution is concentrated in Newfoundland,
Patagonia, Tristan da Cunha, South Africa, New Zealand, Western and Eastern
Australia, Japan and Alaska.
Copyright Whales, LLC 1996.