North Atlantic right whale

What do North Atlantic right whales look like?

North Atlantic right whales are very big, rotund and mostly black; some have white blotches on their belly. They do not have a dorsal fin. Their flippers are broad and paddle-shaped and their tail flukes are wide. Right whales have enormous heads which are about one-third of the total body length. Inside their mouths are hundreds of baleen plates, each up to 3m (8ft) in length. Their jaws are strongly arched to accommodate their baleen. Right whales have large, white, bumpy growths on their heads, called callosities (from the word callus). The shape, size and position of callosities are unique on each whale’s head and so scientists can use these patterns to identify individuals. Right whales have a distinctive v-shaped blow (spout).

What’s life like for a North Atlantic right whale?

Unfortunately their lives are dangerous and difficult due to human threats. Historically, North Atlantic right whales migrated from their feeding grounds in cooler waters of the Gulf of Maine to their calving grounds off the southeast US. However, a changing climate has shifted their migratory travels into areas of intense human activity where conservation measures are not adequately in place, putting them at extreme risk. These whales are particularly susceptible to ship collisions and entanglements in fishing gear because they spend a considerable amount of time near the water’s surface.

The social lives of North Atlantic right whales remain a mystery. While a whale might appear to be travelling or feeding alone, sound recordings indicate they are frequently in acoustic contact with others.

What do they eat?

North Atlantic right whales are baleen whales that feed entirely on zooplankton and their favourite types are large copepods which are about the size of a grain of rice. They also eat smaller copepods, krill and small invertebrates. The whales skim feed or graze; they swim slowly through large patches of copepods with their mouths open. The baleen plates in their mouths strain prey from seawater like a giant sieve. Scientists have found right whales can eat between 2200 and 5500 lbs (998 and 2495 kg) of food every day.

Where do they live?

North Atlantic right whales used to be widespread throughout the North Atlantic. Centuries of hunting have drastically reduced their numbers to a tiny fraction of the original. Now, tragically, their sole remaining habitat is in the western North Atlantic, along the eastern US and Atlantic Canada, with a few individuals known to wander as far as Iceland, Norway, England and the Azores. Since 2010, right whales are more frequently found feeding in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer months while their new winter habitats remain unknown. The only known right whale calving areas are in shallow, coastal waters in the southern parts of their range.