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The right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) got its common name from the fact that it was "the right whale" to hunt. This is because it had large amounts of blubber or fat. It was very slow and easy to chase, and it floated when it was killed making it easy to handle. In fact, it was so easy to hunt, that it soon became so uncommon that whalers had to go after other prey.
It is estimated that when the Pilgrims landed in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts --just steps away from where I work at the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary offices -- there were about 20,000 right whales in the Atlantic. Now, there are only about 320-340 individuals left in this population. Many people wonder if this species can survive from such a low number, since the gene pool has been weakened considerably.
The right whale has no dorsal fin, has extremely long baleen plates in its arched upper jaw (about 7 feet long), and reaches a length of about 60 feet. It is hard to see in the water because of its lack of dorsal fin and because it moves slowly -- making it subject to ship strikes. This is believed to be one of the major killers of right whales today.
A striking feature of the right whale is its pattern of callosities, which are patches of thickened skin often covered by whale lice -- a type of crustacean. These white patches on its head, over its eyes, and around its mouth are used by researchers to identify individual whales. Each whale has a different pattern. But since a right whale doesn't often get much of its head out of the water, it makes it hard for the researcher to identify each whale. It often takes quite some time (sometimes using many photographs) to make a match.
Right whales have their calves in the waters off the coast of Georgia and Florida. (The Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary is located off the coast of Georgia). Many spend the spring in the waters around Cape Cod, including the Stellwagen Bank area. In the summer, researchers believe most of the right whales congregate in waters in and near the Bay of Fundy to breed. Although females make the trek to southern waters to calve, it is not known where males, juveniles, and non- pregnant females go in the winter. This is one of the many unknown facts about the right whale's life history.
Anne Smrcina
Education Coordinator
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
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