North Atlantic Right Whale
311103
223090960
2008-07-02T15:04:06Z
62.77.56.11
{{Taxobox
| name = North Atlantic Right Whale
| image = Eubalaena glacialis with calf.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| image_caption = North Atlantic Right Whale mother and calf.
| status = EN
| status_system = iucn2.3
| status_ref = <ref>[http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/41712/all 2007 IUCN Red List – Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Cetacea]]
| subordo = [[Mysticeti]]
| familia = [[Balaenidae]]
| genus = ''[[Eubalaena]]''
| species = '''''E. glacialis'''''
| species_authority = ([[Otto Friedrich Müller|Müller]], 1776)
| binomial = ''Eubalaena glacialis''
| range_map = Eubalaena glacialis range map.png
| range_map_width = 300px
| range_map_caption = Range map.
}}
The '''North Atlantic Right Whale''' (''Eubalaena glacialis'') is a [[baleen whale]], one of three species formerly called classified as the [[Right Whale]] belonging to the genus ''[[Eubalaena]]''. About 300 North Atlantic Right Whales live in the [[North Atlantic]] Ocean.
Like other right whales, North Atlantic Right Whales are readily distinguished from other whales by the [[callosity|callosities]] on their heads, a broad back without a [[dorsal fin]], and a long arching mouth that begins above the eye. The body of the whale is very dark grey or black, occasionally with some white patches on the belly. The right whale's callosities appear white, not due to skin pigmentation, but to large colonies of cyamids or [[whale louse|whale lice]].
Adult right whales average 35-55 feet (10.7-16.8 meters) in length and weigh up to 70 tons (63,500 kilograms); the largest measured have been 60 feet long and 117 tons (106,500 kilograms). Females are larger than males and first give birth at age nine or 10 after a yearlong gestation; the interval between births seems to have increased in recent years and now averages three to six years. Calves are 13-15 feet long at birth. There is little data on their life span, but it's believed to be at least 50 years, and closely related species may live more than a century.
==Whaling==
[[Image:La Baleine.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Whaling]] in small wooden boats with hand [[harpoon]]s was a hazardous enterprise, even when hunting the "right" whale.]]
{{See also|Whaling}}
{{main|History of whaling}}
Right whales were so named because [[whaling|whalers]] thought they were the "right" whale to hunt. 40% of a right whale's body weight is [[blubber]], which is of relatively low density. Consequently, unlike many other species of whale, deceased right whales float. Combined with the right whale's slowness through water they were easy to catch even for whalers equipped only with wooden boats and hand-held [[harpoon]]s.
The [[Basque people|Basque]]s were the first to commercially hunt the North Atlantic Right Whale. They began doing so as early as the 11th century in the [[Bay of Biscay]]. The whales were hunted initially for their oil but, as [[meat preservation]] technology improved, the animal was also used for food. Basque whalers reached eastern [[Canada]] by 1530<ref name=EOMM/> and the shores of [[Todos os Santos Bay]] (in [[Bahia]], [[Brazil]]) by 1602. The last Basque whaling voyages were made prior to the commencement of the Seven Year's War (1756-1763). A few unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the trade, but they all failed. Basque shore whaling continued sporadically into the 19th century.
Basques were replaced by the whalers from the new American colonies: the "Yankee whalers". Setting out from [[Nantucket, Massachusetts]] and [[Long Island, New York]], the Americans were able to take up to 100 right whales some years. By 1750 the North Atlantic Right Whale was as good as extinct for commercial purposes and the Yankee whalers moved into the South Atlantic before the end of the 18th century.
As it became clear that stocks were nearly depleted, a worldwide total ban on right whaling was agreed upon in 1937. The ban was largely successful, although some whaling continued in violation of the ban for several decades. [[Madeira]] took its last two right whales in 1968.
==Shipping==
Recent reports have stated that the greatest danger to the North Atlantic Right whale, is North American shipping. Deaths from collisions with shipping is now proving to be an extinction threat. <ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1513434.stm </ref> In 2007 The US government changed shipping routes out of Boston in an attempt to reduce whale strikes, in particular to the North Atlantic Right Whale <ref> http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike/ </ref>
==Population and distribution==
There are about 400 North Atlantic Right Whales, almost all living in the Western North Atlantic Ocean. In spring, summer and autumn, they feed in areas off the Canadian and north-east US coasts in a range stretching from [[New York]] to [[Nova Scotia]]. Particularly popular feeding areas are the [[Bay of Fundy]] and [[Cape Cod Bay]]. In winter, they head south towards [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Florida]] to give birth.
There have been a smattering of sightings further east over the past few decades—several sightings were made close to [[Iceland]] in 2003. It is possible that these are the remains of a virtually extinct eastern Atlantic stock, but examination of old whalers records suggest that they are more likely to be strays from further west.<ref name=EOMM>{{cite book | last = Kenney | first = Robert D. | editor = William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig and J. G. M. Thewissen | title = The Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals | year = 2002 | publisher = Academic Press | id = ISBN 0-12-551340-2 | pages = 806–813 | chapter = North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern Right Whales}}</ref> However, a few sightings are regular between Norway, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and even Sicily<ref>{{cite web | author = Martin et al. | title = SIGHTING OF A RIGHT WHALE (EUBALAENA GLACIALIS) WITH CALF OFF S. W. PORTUGAL | publisher = NOAA | year = 1997 | work=Marine Mammal Science vol. 13. no. 1 p 139 | url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1997.tb00617.x?journalCode=mms | accessmonthday=October 26 | accessyear=2006}}</ref> and at least the Norway individuals come from the Western stock.<ref>{{cite web | author = Jacobsen et al. | title = TWO-WAY TRANS-ATLANTIC MIGRATION OF A NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE (EUBALAENA GLACIALIS) | year = 2004 | work=Marine Mammal Science vol. 20. no. 1 p 161 | url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2004.tb01147.x | accessmonthday=October 26 | accessyear=2006}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.wdcs.org "Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society"]
*[http://archive.capecodonline.com/special/rightwhales/ "Giants in the Balance: The Race to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale"]
*[http://www.dosits.org/gallery/marinemm/9.htm Hear right whale audio (U. of R.I., Office of Marine Programs)]
*[http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Eubalaena_glacialis/more_moving_images.html Watch video of northern right whales]
*[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071027112213.htm: Research showing the need for speed restrictions to save the North Atlantic Right Whale]
*[http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/RightWhale.htm American Cetacean Society]
*[http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/rightwhale_northern.htm NOAA]
*[http://listenforwhales.com/ Right Whale Listening Network] has acoustic autobuoys in between the lanes of the [[Traffic Separation Scheme]] approaching Boston.
{{Cetacea|M.}}
[[Category:Baleen whales]]
[[ar:حوت شمال الأطلسي الصائب]]
[[id:Paus Sikat Atlantik Utara]]
[[da:Nordkaper]]
[[de:Atlantischer Nordkaper]]
[[es:Eubalaena glacialis]]
[[eo:Nigra baleno]]
[[fr:Baleine franche de l'Atlantique Nord]]
[[it:Eubalaena glacialis]]
[[lt:Pietinis banginis]]
[[hu:Északi simabálna]]
[[ja:タイセイヨウセミクジラ]]
[[no:Nordkaper]]
[[pl:Wieloryb biskajski]]
[[pt:Baleia-franca-do-atlântico-norte]]
[[sk:Veľryba biskajská]]
[[fi:Mustavalas]]
[[sv:Nordkapare]]
[[zh:北大西洋露脊鯨]]