The Right Whale: Most Endangered Marine Mammal, as of 2008

The right whale, which are baleen whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena ("The Right Whales," 1999), are the most endangered marine mammal as of 2008 (Woodard, 2008). Although the government has been protecting this endangered species since the late 19^th century from hunters, there are still too many fatal accidents involving ships and lobster traps and other fishing gear (Woodard, 2008).

The right whale was given its name because hunters considered it the "right" whale to hunt. These whales are large and slow moving creatures which like to stay close to the shore and their blubber contains a lot of their much desired oil (Walker, 1998). At one time there were over 100,000 right whales inhabiting the oceans but there are currently less than 400 (Woodard, 2008).

These interesting mammals are generally black in color with gray patches in varying places amongst their belly and throat. They have large heads which comprise approximately a quarter of their body and their baleens can be up to seven feet long. The Right Whale has a narrow upper jaw and a curved lower jaw and no dorsal fin ("Right Whale," 2008). The average adult female of the Northern Right Whale species will grow to be fifty feet long while the male will stop around forty nine feet and weigh approximately 120,000 pounds. The female Southern Right Whale grows to approximately fifty four feet and the Southern male will be about fifty feet ("Right Whales," 2008).

Taxonomy

According to "Right Whales" (2008), there is some speculation among biologists whether there are two or three species of the Right Whale. Those who believe there are only two agree that the two are the Northern Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis and the Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis. Those biologists that believe there is a third species say that the North Pacific Right Whale, Eubalaena japonica should have their own species since they are so different than the other two.

When whaling was permitted, it was believed that there was only one species of the Right Whale among the world but after studying their skull shape, it was decided that there was at least two ("Whale Riders," 2005). Using the parasitic lice found on the whales, it has been determined that the two species of whales have not interbred in five to six million years, since the Pacific and Atlantic oceans split (Bohannon, 2005).

Due to their thick layer of insulating blubber, whales are not able to cross through tropical waters. Their bodies can not adapt to the changing temperature quickly enough to survive the passage therefore isolating the species even further (Woodard, 2008). This goes to prove the distinction of at least two species since they have been isolated from each other for up to six million years. The third species that some believe exist inhabits the seas of the North Pacific are actually more closely related to the Southern Right Whale than to the Northern Right Whale.

Distribution

The Right Whales currently inhabit three areas of the world, in the western Atlantic Ocean you will find the Atlantic Northern Right Whale, the Pacific Northern Right Whale can be found in a band from Japan to Alaska, and the Southern Right Whale inhabits all areas of the Southern Ocean. Since 1980 the only area that researchers can consistently find the Right Whale is in the south-eastern Bering Sea so that is where much of the research is completed. There are single sightings and other detections of them in the other areas but they can not rely on those locations to gather pertinent information (Sheldon, Moore, Waite, Wade, Rugh, 2005).

Habitat

The whales live in cool to temperate ocean waters and have a tendency to stay near the surface. The Right Whales are located in the three main areas and those that live along the United States eastern coastline migrate to the south seasonally, every year. The pregnant whales travel to the coasts of Florida and Georgia to deliver their calves. Researchers are still trying to determine where the males and non pregnant females go during the winter, it has been determined that they leave the northern feeding grounds but do not travel to the same area that the pregnant whales do. This is something that is currently being studied ("Right Whales," 2007).

Behavior

The behavior development of the calves can be divided into five stages throughout the first thirteen months of their lives, unfortunately this is the only major research on the development of Right Whales since researchers can easily access the nursing grounds but the feeding grounds are hard to locate. The first three stages occur during the first four months while the mother and baby stay at the nursing grounds; the fourth stage occurs when the mother and baby leave for the feeding grounds for the summer; the fifth and final stage, which doesn't always happen, is when the mother and baby will return to the nursing ground for a few more weeks for the mother to care for the baby after which they will separate (International Fund for Animal Welfare, 2007).

The life span on the Right Whale is thought to be about sixty years but since there is so much research currently happening dealing with these mammals, this number could change in the future ("Right Whale," 2008). A female Right Whale typically gives birth to a calf every one to three years after they reach maturity which is between the ages of seven and ten years. The gestation period for the whale is ten to twelve months and since the mother will nurse the baby for the first year, the gap in reproduction will allow the mother to regain her energy (Lord, 2001). This makes it seem as though the female Right Whales are producing a lot of calves but unfortunately the rate of production isn't keeping up with the rate of unfortunate deaths.

Right Whales communicate with one another through many different sounds such as moaning, pulsed calls, blows, and slaps to the water ("About Right Whales," 2007). If you are lucky enough to hear one of these Right Whales while you are out on the ocean, you will also see them breathing through their two blow holes, although they are capable of holding their breath for up to thirty minutes ("Right Whale," 2008).

Since the Right Whale is a baleen whale, they are constantly swimming along the surface with their mouths open filtering the feed plankton and crustaceans. They will on occasion act like bottom feeders finding food in the mud of the ocean floor ("Right Whales," 2008). Whales have a three compartment stomach to aid in digestion, much like cows and other ungulates. While humans base their daily diet at approximately 2,000 calories, the Right Whale will consume the equivalent of a million calories by eating about 4,400 pounds of plankton a day ("Right Whale," 2008).

Social Behavior and Organization

Right Whales rely on their mother for the first year of their life and are then on their own. The have very few natural enemies, only being preyed on occasionally by orcas, leaving humans to be their main enemy ("Right Whales," 2007). The only long term bond they maintain is with their mother but can occasionally be found in social groups playing and splashing around, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (2007). Socially active Right Whales are easiest to see in the winter time near their typical grounds. As reported by National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources in Silver Spring, MD (2007), frequently you will see two to seven whales, primarily males, focusing on a female near the surface of the water, which may be a mating strategy used by the females to ensure they are mating with a large strong male.

Conservation

There have been many efforts, especially lately in hopes of saving the Right Whale from extinction. The United States government has funded a project through the New England Aquarium in which they have created a database containing identifying information on ninety percent of the Right Whale population. They are easily identified using the callosities on their head; these are white patches of thickened skin formed by the sea lice. The database currently has over 250,000 photographs of approximately 500 Right Whales, both living and dead (Woodard, 2008). With this database in place, it is much easier for researchers to determine where the whales travel during their migration and helps to locate them in hopes of saving them.

Since the majority of deaths since whaling was banned come from collisions with ships, the Canadian government changed their shipping lanes in 2003 in hopes of reducing the number of fatalities and is encouraging the United States government to do the same (Williams, 2005). The U.S. Navy is also doing their part to help save the Right Whale population by setting up mitigations on their ships and on their shore stations to keep an eye out for any whales. If they see any, they report them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who is responsible for taking aerial shots of the water in different locations along the coast every day. If any Right Whales are spotted, they send the report to Navy vessels and other commercial fisherman and shippers to warn them and request that they keep a five mile distance between them and the reported location (Blowers, 2007).

Conclusions

The Right Whale is one of the most endangered marine mammals known to date even though they are no longer allowed to be hunted. This means that the cause of their fatalities is humans. If commercial fishermen and other shippers were to take higher precautions when out to sea, especially when they are near the shores where Right Whales are typically found, it may be possible to increase the population of Right Whales and save them from extinction.

Unfortunately there isn't a lot of information in regards to their behaviors since they are hard to locate. Being an underwater creature makes it hard for researchers to see them clearly and to understand their play and social behaviors but as more investigations are done, we will be learning more and more about the Right Whale.
References

Blowers, R. (2007). Protecting a species. All Hands, 1080, 18-23.

Bohannon, J. (2005). Listening to lice. Science Now, 1-2.

International Fund for Animal Welfare. (2007). Protecting Whales and their Habitat. Retrived May 1, 2008 from http://www.ifaw.org

Lord, P.B. (2001). Rights and wrongs. Animals, 134, 11-12.

Right Whale. (2008). Retrieved May 1, 2008 from http://www.learner.org/jnorth/search/RightWhale_notes1.html

Right Whales. (2007). Retrieved May 1, 2008 from http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/right_whales/

Right Whales.(2008). Retrieved May 1, 2008 from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Rightwhale.shtml

Sheldon, K. E.W., Moore, S.E., Waite, J.M., Wade, P.R., Rugh, D.J.. (2005). Historic and current habitat use by North Pacific right whalesEubalaena japonicain the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Mammal Review, 35(2), 129-155.

The Right Whales. (1999). Marine Fisheries Review, 61(1), 7-17.

Walker, R. (1998). The princess of whales. Chatelaine, 71(11), 46.

'Whale riders' reveal distant split in cetacean species (2005). New Scientist, 187, 20.

Williams, C. (2005, September 19). Whale experts call for lane changes on U.S. east coast. Canadian Sailings, p. 11.

Woodard, C. (2008). Marine Researchers Track an Elusive Endangered Whale. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54(19), 6-8.Sheldon, K. E.W., Moore, S.E., Waite, J.M., Wade, P.R., Rugh, D.J.. (2005). Historic and current habitat use by North Pacific rightwhalesEubalaena japonicain the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Mammal Review, 35