Mammals
North Atlantic Right Whale
Eubalaena glacialis · also called North Atlantic right whales
Surfacing slowly in busy coastal waters off the eastern United States, a North Atlantic right whale carries the distinctive rough callosities on its head that let researchers identify it individually, one of only a few hundred remaining members of one of the most endangered large whale species on Earth.
Overview
The North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, is a critically endangered baleen whale native to coastal and continental shelf waters along the eastern coast of North America. Its extremely small remaining population, distinctive individually identifiable head callosities, and severe ongoing vulnerability to ship strikes and fishing gear make it one of the most conservation-urgent large whale species found anywhere in the world.
A name from history, a crisis in the present
Once considered the right whale to hunt precisely because it was slow and easy to kill, the species now faces a modern version of the same vulnerability, its coastal, near-surface habits putting it directly in the path of ships and fishing gear it never evolved to avoid.
Status
Critically Endangered and decreasing, down to only a few hundred individuals, with ongoing losses from ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement continuing to outpace the species’ naturally slow reproductive rate.
North Atlantic Right Whale: common questions
Why is the North Atlantic right whale so endangered?
This species has declined to only a few hundred individuals primarily because it spends considerable time near the surface in coastal waters that overlap heavily with shipping lanes and fishing activity, making ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear the leading causes of injury and death for the species.
Why is it called the right whale?
This species earned its common name from historical whalers, who considered it the right whale to hunt due to its slow swimming speed, tendency to float after being killed rather than sink, and valuable oil and baleen, a name that reflects a grim commercial history rather than any positive trait for the whale itself.
How do researchers identify individual North Atlantic right whales?
This species displays rough, raised patches of skin called callosities on its head, and because the specific pattern of these callosities is unique to each individual, researchers can use photographs of them to identify and track specific whales across years and even decades.
Why is it so hard for the North Atlantic right whale population to recover?
This species reproduces relatively slowly, with females giving birth infrequently, a biological constraint that makes population recovery especially difficult once numbers decline significantly, particularly when ongoing losses from ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement continue to offset limited reproductive gains.