Right whales are primarily solitary animals, although sometimes they are found in pairs.
The growths, or callosities, on their head are distinctive enough to identify individuals.
They move slowly through the water with their mouth partially agape, straining plankton with their baleen plates.
Only about three hundred to six hundred of them still exist because of overhunting for centuries for their oil, meat, and baleen (whalebone).
Their common name stems from their being the "right" whale to hunt: They were among the most valuable of whales; they swim slowly, close to shore; and once killed, their carcasses float, or "right" themselves.
Name: Northern Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
Family: Balaenidae (Right and Bowhead Whales)
Range: Northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans
Habitat: Coastal waters
Diet: Krill and other small crustaceans
Total Length: 36 to 59 feet (11 to 18 m)
Weight: 66,000 to 180,000 pounds (30,000 to 80,000 kg)
Life Cycle: Mating February to April; gestation 365 days, one calf born
Description: Mostly black in color; white callosities on and around the head; robust and heavy-bodied; strongly bowed lower jaw; no dorsal fin; huge, ridged flippers; V-shaped spout
Conservation Status: Endangered
Major Threat: Human disturbance
Description: A large, blackish whale with the following features: no dorsal fin; head huge, about one-fourth of total length; baleen (whalebone) about 2 m long, 30 cm wide, and between 200 and 250 in number on each side of mouth; closure of mouth highly arched; no furrows on the throat; prominent, large, wartlike areas (called bonnets), the one near tip of snout largest. Total length of adults, 14-17 m; weight, 20-30 metric tons.
Distribution in Texas: Worldwide in distribution but extremely rare. Only 3,000-4,000 remain in the world’s oceans, with about 100 constituting the North Atlantic population. These whales are listed as "endangered." Known in Texas from a single individual that beached in February, 1972, at Surfside Beach near Freeport, Brazoria County.
Habits: Right whales were so named by early whalers because they were the "right" whale to kill — they are slow swimmers and were thus easily caught, floated when dead, and produced large quantities of oil and baleen. Consequently, right whales were decimated early by the world’s whaling industries and have yet to recover.
Right whales spend spring, summer, and autumn at high latitude feeding grounds and migrate to more southerly, warmer waters in winter for mating and calving. Northern and southern populations do not interbreed due to asynchronous seasons between the hemispheres.
Right whales produce a variety of vocal sounds as well as percussive sounds of breaching, flipper slapping, and tail slapping. A distinctive clacking sound has been described for these whales as they feed at the surface. Termed the "baleen rattle," this sound is produced by small wavelets rattling the baleen plates when they are partially held out of water. Right whale sounds appear to differ with changing behavior and, thus, may be important in communication. As with other baleen whales, right whales probably do not echolocate.
Right whales feed by skimming through concentrations of krill. They have been seen feeding at depths ranging from the surface down to 10 m although they may also feed at deeper levels. Location of krill concentrations in the water column probably determines feeding depth.
After a one-year gestation period, females give birth to a single calf in winter. Calves are 5-6 m in length at birth but grow rapidly during the subsequent period of lactation, which lasts about 13 months. Calves remain with their mothers for 2-3 years following weaning and probably reach sexual maturity at about 10 years of age. Females give birth at 2 to 7 year intervals.
 The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. It is a creature rarely found south of latitude 70°N. It is one of two species of white whale in the Monodontidae family (the other is the beluga whale). It is possibly also related to the Irrawaddy dolphin.
The English name narwhal is derived from the Dutch name narwal which in turn comes from the Danish narhval which is based ...
|
 Order: Cetacea, Family: Balaenidae A large, blackish whale with the following features: no dorsal fin; head huge, about one-fourth of total length; baleen (whalebone) about 2 m long, 30 cm wide, and between 200 and 250 in number on each side of mouth; closure of mouth highly arched; no furrows on the throat; prominent, large, wartlike areas (called bonnets), the one near tip of snout largest. Total length of adults, 14-17 m; weight...
|
 Order: Cetacea, Family: Monodontidae Arctic Ocean: An exclusively northern hemisphere species, the beluga range is primarily the Arctic ocean and some adjoining seas.
Belugas are a white-colored whale with a fusiform body shape and a large melon on the head. This melon is thought by some to focus echolocation tones, although this is in question. The melon can also be used as an indicator of health (poorly nourished belugas have low ...
|
 Order: Cetacea, Family: Balaenopteridae Smallest of the baleen whales in the Gulf of Mexico, adult minkes only reach up to 10.2 m in length and 10 metric tons in weight. As with all baleen whales, females are slightly larger than males of comparable age. Minke whales have a very narrow and pointed rostrum and a broad white band on the dorsal surface of the flippers. Coloration is dark gray to black above and white below. The baleen plat...
|
 Great sperm whales are the biggest of all toothed whales, the males usually much larger than the females.
They travel in pods of up to fifty, composed of one or two males and a harem.
Their common name is derived from a structure in their head known as the spermaceti organ, which is filled with a liquid waxy substance often referred to as sperm oil.
It is thought that this structure helps con...
|
 Order: Cetacea, Family: Delphinidae The killer whale is actually the largest living species of dolphin, and not a true whale.
Males can measure 32 feet long, with a 6-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh 10 tons. Females can grow up to 28 feet in length, with a 3-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh up to 6 tons.
The killer whale has a black body with a white belly, and a white patch on its chin and by its eye. It also has a gray or wh...
|
Add Feedback