The Right Whale

The right whale is a baleen whale with a bow shaped lower jaw and a head that is up to one quarter of the whole body length. Right whales are known to be three species of baleen whales which are the following: Eubalaena glacialis (Northern right whale), Eubalaena australis (Southern right whale) and Eubalaena japonica (North pacific). Right whales skin is usually very dark gray or black with white or brown patches. These patches, also known as callosities are a variety of crustaceans of whale lice. The whale calves are blue to grey colored. The right whale has large flippers instead of dorsal fin or throat grooves. Usually right whale males grow up to 48 feet and females up to 50 feet. The approximately weight they have is 120,000 pounds.

The Right whales heads are hairier than most whales. It is found up to 400 hairs on the tip of the low jaw and 150 on the upper jaw. These whales have a series of growths behind the blow hole, the chin, lower lip, above the eyes and upper jaw. The right whale is known by that name because of whale hunters. Whale hunters stated that this type of whale is the "right" to hunt because they float when they are dead and easy to catch because they are slow swimmers. The right whales 50 percent of body weight is blubber, which is related to low density. Blubber is the primary location for storage of fat in some mammals. Blubber is known to save energy for marine mammals. During the active years of the whaling industry, these whales were hunted until extinction.

Right whales are known to be seasonal feeders, just like all baleen whales. Their diet consists of tiny crustaceans called copepods, zooplankton, pteropods and krill. They feed themselves by filtering prey from the water, while they swim with their mouth open. The skimming technique of this whale takes place underwater, surface or also at the bottom of the ocean. The right whale breaths the air at the surface of the water through the blow holes, which are located at the top of the head. Right whales habitat are cool seas on both hemispheres. The orca whale and humans are the only predators for right whales.

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. Humpback whales have a distinctive body shape with a knobbly head and long pectoral fins. These whales have a scarred skin and a few white patches on the tail. They have from 10 to 30 throat grooves, which allows the whale's throat to expand during the intake of water for filter feeding. Humpback whales usually travels in large and loose groups. This whale is known to be an acrobatic animal, which is often slapping the water and breaching. The whale's diet mostly consist of small fish and krill. They grow up to 50 feet and weight 45,000 tons. The male whale produces a complex song which lasts up to 20 minutes.

The blue whale is the largest and loudest animal that existed. Blue whales grow in length up to 98 feet and weight 200 tons. This whale belongs to the suborder of the baleen whale. Blue whales are usually blue gray with a few white gray spots and have thin and long flippers. Their consists of small fish, krill, copepods, and plankton. The blue whale habitat is on the surface of the ocean and they are located in any ocean around the world.

The Orca whale also known as the Killer whale is a toothed whale predator which belongs to the family of dolphin. Orca whales are mostly black with a few white patches and they have a dorsal fin and large flippers. They grow up to 32 feet and weight 10,000 tons. Orca whales are known to be very fast swimmers and efficient hunters. They have a diverse diet which consist of squid, sharks, whales, seals, turtles, penguins, small fish, etc. These whales are found in most of the oceans in the world. Here at rightwhaleweb.org you will find all information related to the Right whale.

Whale Custody Battle

A whale custody battle may affect the quality of life of two orcas that are very close to breeding. The male, Ike, took his time to show interest in the female in order to entice him.


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