Right+Whale+2010



By: Bailey B.

Right whales are easy to tell apart from other whales by the callosities on their heads, and a broad back without dorsal fins, and by their arching mouth that begins above the eye. The body is very dark gray, or black, but time to time some have white patches on their bellies. Females reach sexual maturity at 6-12 years and breed every 3-5 years. Reproduction and calving take place during the winter months. Calves are born approximately weighing 1 ton in weight, 4-6 meters in length at birth. The right whale grows rapidly in its first year. Weaning occurs between eight months to one year and the growth rate in later years is not well understood. It may be highly dependent on whether a calf stays with its mother for a second year. Right whales diets are zoo plankton, tiny crustaceans, called copepods, and krill. Right whales can be found in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. The warm equatorial waters form a barrier that prevents them from traveling into the southern seas. In the past Right whales were hunted extensively. By 1937, it was realized that the stocks were nearly depleted on these whales so a world-wide ban was put on the species. In spite of this several countries continued to hunt the Right whale. Today the leading cause of death among the North Atlantic Right whale is from being struck by ships. At least 16 ship strike deaths were reported between 1970 and 1999. In order to keep this animal from going extinct we need to enforce the no hunting laws and ships need to be more aware of the whales swimming in the shipping lanes.