Alternate name: Black Right Whale
Family: Balaenidae, Right Whales view all from this family
Description To 53' (16.2 m). Large, rotund; brown to almost black, mottled overall, with some white on chin and belly, baleen plates dark brownish to dark gray or black, may appear pale yellowish gray further offshore. Jaw highly arched, curves upward along side of head; callosities, or bumps, on head light yellowish, largest, or "bonnet," in front of large, paired blowholes. No dorsal fin or ridge. Flukes broad, tips pointed, greatly concave toward deep notch, dark below. Blow characteristic, V-shaped.
Endangered Status The Northern Right Whale is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in its entire range along the eastern coast of the U.S. (Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia). This whale was hunted nearly to extinction, and commercial hunting of right whales has been banned for nearly 100 years. Collecting Northern Right Whales for scientific research has taken a toll in the last century, and the species does not appear to be recovering. With probably fewer than 1,000 individuals world-wide, the species is considered to be very close to extinction.
Similar Species Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) lacks light-colored callosities on head. Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) has obvious mottling.
Habitat Often near shore in shallow water; sometimes in large bays.
Range In Atlantic from Iceland to E. Florida, occasionally into SE. and SW. Gulf of Mexico, rarely to West Indies. In Pacific from Gulf of Alaska and SE. Bering Sea to central Baja California.
Discussion Also called the Black Right Whale, this species was named the Right Whale by early whalers who believed it to be the "right" or "correct" whale to take, since it swims slowly, is easy to approach and kill, and does not sink when dead. One animal measuring 51' (15.4 m) weighed 46.2 ton (42,000 kg). Once killed, the Right Whale yielded an abundance of valuable oil and baleen to be used for corset stays and other decorative or utilitarian objects. There is growing evidence that calves are born when the whales are at the southern end of their migration - in the Atlantic off northeastern Florida, Georgia, and possibly the Carolinas. They may come very close to shore in northeastern Florida. Only newborn whales lack the callosities, which may be useful in identifying individual whales.
