Right Whales

Bowhead Whale(Balaena mysticetus)

The Bowhead Whale is a species restricted to the colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere, and is rarely far from ice. They migrate northwards, following cracks in the ice in the spring, and then southwards again in the autumn as the sea freezes over.

Classification: The Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus, was classified by Linnaeus in 1758, meaning 'moustached sea monster'.

Local Names: Greenland Right Whale; Greenland Whale; Great Polar Whale; Arctic Whale; Arctic Right Whale. The common name is derived from the extreme arching of the lower jaw.

Description: This is a large, stocky whale with no dorsal and a huge head. Though calves are born blue-black, adults are black in colour, with a white/cream ‘chin’ on the forward part of the lower jaw. This lighter patch may contain black spotting. Occasionally there is a smiliar light area on the tail stock. Flippers are small and rounded, and a small eye is set at the angle of the jaw. Females are generally larger than males, with average length being between 14-15m (the longest recorded was 19m), and weighing 50-60 tonnes. The Bowhead Whale has the longest baleen plates of all baleen whales, typically reaching 4.3m in length, with around 700 plates per animal.

Recognition at sea: A large whale with no dorsal can only be a Right or a Bowhead. To discern between the two, the Bowhead's white 'chin' is absent in Right Whales. At a distance, Bowheads do not have the head callosities that are common on Right Whales. The blow is bushy, V-shaped, and up to 6m high.

Habitat: The Bowhead Whale is wholly in Arctic or sub-Arctic waters, occuring mainly in shallow water close to land. However, the species will swim in whatever depth is necessary in order to follow the retreating ice edge.

Food & Feeding: Bowheads feed in much the same way as Gray Whales, in that they are bottom feeders, but do so in water of less than 30m in depth. They are also skimmers, intaking food at the surface by swimming slowly along with the mouth open. They normally take a variety of organisms, including copepods, steropods and euphausiids.

Behaviour: Bowhead Whales often travel in groups of three or less in the spring, but larger groups of around 50 animals are common during the autumn migration. Breaching, lob-tailing and flipper-slapping are rare but not unheard of, and the whales are well-known for their ability to break air holes through ice of less than 0.3m thick.

Longevity: Unknown, but a freshly-killed Bowhead Whale being processed in Alaska in 1995 was found to have two stone harpoon blades lodged in its flesh. These harpoon blades were replaced by the electric harpoon in the late 1800s, so it is possible that the whale was over a century old. In addition, new evidence has suggested that Bowheads can live for 130 years.

Estimated Current Population: < 8,500 animals. Vulnerable.

The Influence of Man: Bowhead Whales were a prime target for whalers, being slow swimmers and yielding good quanities of oil and baleen. Populations were decimated quickly because of the species' ease of capture, and have been under protection from commercial whaling since 1975. Around 50 are still taken every year by Eskimos as a staple food source, and despite early exploitation, it is thought that the Bowhead Whale is recovering adequately.

Northern Right Whale(Eubalaena glacialis)

Small concentrations of the Northern Right Whale can be found in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. As the name suggests, this species is only found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Classification: The Northern Right Whale was classified along with the closely-related Southern Right Whale under the genus Eubalaena, which literally means 'right whale', referring to the belief that these were the 'right' whales to kill.

Local Names: Black Right Whale; Biscayan Right Whale.

Description: The Northern Right Whale is similar is shape to the Bowhead, being large and stocky, but slightly smaller. They are generally the larger of the two Right Whale species, with females being slightly larger than males. They are blue-black to light brown in colour, with white markings, although some albinos and near-albinos have been recorded. The Right Whales' most noticeable feature is the horny growth of 'callosities' on and around the head (primarily near the blowhole, around the rostrum, above the eyes and on the jaw), which can be seen on the picture below. Northern Right Whales measure between 13.5-17m, and weigh in the region of 40-80 tonnes. Their baleen is long and narrow, with a maximum length of 3m and around 400-540 plates per animal.

Recognition at sea: The Northern Right Whale may be confused with the Bowhead Whale, which is similar in both size and shape and shares the same V-shaped blow. However, the Northern Right Whale is easily distinguishable from its callosities, which are absent in the Bowhead Whale.

Habitat: Both species of Right Whale can be found in polar waters, but in summer they are normally located in temperate and subpolar seas. Calving seems to occur in shallow bays near to the coast, although there is insufficient evidence for this in some areas.

Food & Feeding: Northern Right Whales usually feed below the surface, occasionally near to the seabed, on concentrations of copepods. Surface feeding has also been observed.

Behaviour: Right Whales are, despite their massive bulk, incredibly active cetaceans, with breaching, lob-tailling and flipper-slapping all relatively common. A particular favourite is 'sailing', where the whale hangs vertically upside-down in the water, 'standing' on its head, with its tail flukes in the air. They communicate through 'moans' and 'burping' noises.

Longevity: Unknown.

Estimated Current Population: < 1,000 animals (Northern Atlantic population < 300 animals). The most endangered 'great' whale, with full species extinction expected within 190 years.

The Influence of Man: Both species of Right Whales were the first large cetaceans to be commercially hunted by man, possibly as early as the 10th Century. In the nineteenth century alone, over 100,000 whales were slaughtered, and, although having been granted protection in 1935, it is doubtful that this species will ever recover.

Southern Right Whale(Eubalaena australis)

Southern Right Whales are found seasonally around Australia, South Africa, South America and New Zealand. They favour warmer waters in winter for breeding and return to polar regions in summer for feeding.

Classification: The Southern Right Whale was classified along with the closely-related Northern Right Whale under the genus Eubalaena, which literally means 'right whale', referring to the belief that these were the 'right' whales to kill.

Local Names: Black Right Whale.

Description: The Southern Right Whale is similar is shape to the Bowhead, being large and stocky, but slightly smaller. They are blue-black to light brown in colour, with white markings, although some albinos and near-albinos have been recorded. The Right Whales' most noticeable feature is the horny growth of 'callosities' on and around the head (primarily near the blowhole, around the rostrum, above the eyes and on the jaw), which can be seen on the picture below. Southern Right Whales measure between 14-17m, and weigh in the region of 40-80 tonnes. Their baleen is long and narrow, with a maximum length of 3m and around 400-540 plates per animal.

Recognition at sea: The Southern Right Whale is easily recognisable from its callosities and V-shaped blow.

Habitat: Both species of Right Whale can be found in polar waters, but in summer they are normally located in temperate and subpolar seas. Calving seems to occur in shallow bays near to the coast, although there is insufficient evidence for this in some areas.

Food & Feeding: Southern Right Whales usually feed below the surface, occasionally near to the seabed, on concentrations of copepods. Surface feeding has also been observed.

Behaviour: Right Whales are, despite their massive bulk, incredibly active cetaceans, with breaching, lob-tailling and flipper-slapping all relatively common. A particular favourite is 'sailing', where the whale hangs vertically upside-down in the water, 'standing' on its head, with its tail flukes in the air. They communicate through 'moans' and 'burping' noises.

Longevity: Unknown.

Estimated Current Population: 1,500-4,000 animals. Vulnerable.

The Influence of Man: Both species of Right Whales were the first large cetaceans to be commercially hunted by man, possibly as early as the 10th Century. In the nineteenth century alone, over 100,000 whales were slaughtered, and, although having been granted protection in 1935, it is doubtful that this species will ever recover.

Pygmy Right Whale(Caperea marginata)

Little is known about the Pygmy Right Whale's extact distribution, but sightings and strandings around Australian, South African and Tasmanian coasts in the spring and summer suggest that this small cetacean moves into inshore waters during this time of year.

Classification: The Pygmy Right Whale was described and assigned to a new genus in 1846 by John Edward Gray, Keeper of the British Museum's Zoology Department.

Description: The Pygmy Right Whale is more streamlined than its other family members, the Right Whales and Bowhead Whale. It more closely resembles the rorquals (such as the Blue and Minke Whales) due to its narrow rounded flippers and the presence of a dorsal fin. However, they do resemble the Right and Bowhead Whales as well with the highly-arched jawline which becomes more pronounced with age. They are grey or black in colour, lightening to a white or light grey belly, and one albino individual has been recorded. As in all the other baleen whales, there is sexual dimorphism in length, with females larger than males - the largest female measured 6.45m and the largest male 6.05m. They are estimated to weigh between 3-4 tonnes. The longest baleen plate measures 70cm in length, with 420-460 per animal.

Recognition at sea: It is virtually impossible to tell this species from the Minke Whale, unless the head is visible. If it is, the key distinguishing feature would be the arched jawline.

Habitat: Pygmy Right Whales seem to be located solely in most waters of the Southern Hemisphere.

Food & Feeding: Pygmy Right Whales usually seem to feed on copepods, although the method of feeding has never been observed.

Behaviour: Pygmy Right Whales have been rarely observed at sea, and therefore information about their behaviour and habitat is sketchy. They appear 'unspectacular' at sea, with little or no acrobatics, swimming slowly and diving for short spaces of time. They travel either alone or in pairs.

Longevity: Unknown.

Estimated Current Population: Unknown.

The Influence of Man: Apart from occasional entaglement in fishing nets, this cetacean has suffered no other man-induced mortality and has never been exploited.

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