The Right Whale

Southern Right whale (Eubalaena australis)
Northern Right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)


Right Whales were regarded by Nineteenth century whalers as the 'right' whales for their indu stry.

By the 1860's their numbers were so severely depleted that whalers could no longer hunt them profitably. From an estimated world population of 100,000 whales, 30,000 were taken from Australian and New Zealand waters alone.

Today the world population numbers about 2,000 of which 500 visit southern Australian waters to mate and breed. It is feared that the eastern American stock, now less than 300, is in great danger of extinction due to the accidental deaths of right whales involved in shipping accidents.

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All Right whales are protected internationally under the convention for the regulation of whaling and have not been actively hunted since 1935.

Right Whales are slow, skimmer-feeders. Their baleen plates, up to 2 metres long, filter out plankton and krill (small shrimp-like crustaceans) as they cruise along the surface. They seldom reach a speed of 9km/hr. and take over a month to swim the 5000 km or so distance from the sub-Antarctic waters.

The whales migrate to warmer temperate waters to give birth and mate. They also teach their young how to swim in the warm sheltered waters. The new-born calves have virtually no blubber to insulate them from the cold. They are fattened on rich whale milk which has a 40% fat content. This produces spectacular results and whale calves may double their weight within a week. However, there is no food here for the mothers, who must fast while they raise their young.

Most births occur in early winter, after which the adults begin their courtship displays of breaching, tail splashing, jostling and caressing.

Calves stay close to their mothers, suckling for a year or less and playing together. Calves learn skills they need to survive in one of our planet's great wilderness areas, the Ocean.



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