Southern Right Whale
Eubalaena australis
Summary 3
The Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) is a baleen whale, one of three species of right whale, the other two are the North Pacific Right Whale and the North Atlantic Right Whale both of which are critically endangered. Southern Right Whales are found throughout colder waters of the southern hemisphere usually feeding quite close to shore. The Right Whale is a very large, muscular whale weighing far more than other whales of a similar length.
Length around 60 ft (18 m)
Weight 60,0000-160,000 lb (27,000-72,000 kg)
Right whales feed on small prey such as copepods, fish larvae, and pteropods. Right whales feed using a technique called skim feeding. The whale swims slowly at the surface with its mouth open allowing the water to flow through its long fine baleen plates. As with much smaller filter feeders, any small prey in the water will become trapped in the baleen.
A conspicuous feature of all three species of Right Whale are the white patches, called callosities found on the head. These patches are formed by colonies of whale lice or cyamids. Each individual whale has a unique pattern of these callosities and researchers can tell one animal apart by photographing the head.
Population and Conservation Status 4
The global population is around 12,000 with a strong increase of around 7% per year.
This species is classified as Least Concern
The other species of right whale found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific are Endangered with populations well under 500 animals, potentially under 50 animals for the North Pacific Right Whale.
Threats 4
Southern Right Whales were hunted as early as the 1780s after the North Atlantic Right Whale was hunted to the brink of extinction. Right Whales were the "right whale to hunt" due to their habit of swimming slowly at the surface in very coastal waters. Right whales also posses abundant quantities of baleen and blubber, the two materials that many whales were hunted for.
Today these whales are protected from hunting however indirect human impacts still effect their populations. In particular right whales are very susceptible to fatal collisions with large ships and entanglement in fishing gear. They are also impacted by changes to the marine environment due to climate, pollution, and excess noise in the ocean.
Sources and Credits
- (c) .Luc., some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/72057841_488ab1931f.jpg
- Michaël CATANZARITI, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Southern_right_whale8.jpg/460px-Southern_right_whale8.jpg
- Adapted by Bodacious Dream - Dave Rearick from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubalaena_australis
- (c) Bodacious Dream - Dave Rearick, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
