Southern Right Whale

The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching mouth that begins above the eye. Its skin is very dark grey or black, occasionally with some white patches on the belly. The right whale's callosities appear white due to large colonies of cyamids (whale lice). It is almost indistinguishable from the closely related North Atlantic and the North Pacific right whales, displaying only minor skull differences. It may have fewer callosities on its head and more on its lower lips than the two northern species. Approximately 10,000 southern right whales are spread throughout the southern part of the Southern Hemisphere.

The size of an adult female is 15 m (49 ft) and can weigh up to 47 tonnes (46 long tons; 52 short tons), with the larger records of 17.5–18 m (57–59 ft) in length and 80 tonnes (79 long tons; 88 short tons) in weight, making them slightly smaller than other right whales in Northern Hemisphere. The testicles of right whales are likely to be the largest of any animal, each weighing around 500 kg (1,100 lb). This suggests that sperm competition is important in the mating process. Right whales cannot cross the warm equatorial waters to connect with the other (sub)species and (inter)breed: their thick layers of insulating blubber make it impossible for them to dissipate their internal body heat in tropical waters. However, based on historical records and unconfirmed sightings in modern periods, E.australis actually do occur in equatorial waters.

The proportion and numbers of molten-coloured individuals are notable in this species compared with the other species in the Northern Hemisphere. Some whales remain white even after growing up.

Like other right whales, they are rather active on the water surface, and being curious and playful towards human vessels. According to the quantity of observations, Southern rights seem more active and tend to interact with human more than other two species in Northern Hemisphere. One behavior unique to the southern right whale, known as sailing, is that of using their elevated flukes to catch the wind, remaining in the same position for considerable amount of time. It appears to be a form of play and is most commonly seen off the coast of Argentina and South Africa. Some other species such as Humpback whales are also known to display. Right whales are often seen interacting with other cetaceans, especially Humpback whales and dolphins. There is a record of a Southern right and a Humpback thought to be involved in mating activities off Mozambique.

They have very strong maternal connections with locations and gene pools they were born in, and they are known to return to their 'birth spots' on 3-years intervals.

All species of right whales are curious, playful, and very gentle to other species including humans, sometimes actively trying to give swimmers or kayaks to give rides on their backs. Legends of the Whale Rider are renowned in New Zealand. In water, they are known to avoid themselves not to harm swimmers.

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. The southernmost Brazilian whaling station was established in 1796, in Imbituba. Over the next one hundred years, Yankee whaling spread into the Southern and Pacific Oceans, where the American fleet was joined by fleets from several European nations.

The southern right whale had been coming to New Zealand waters in large numbers before the 19th century, but was extensively hunted from 1830-1850. Hunting gradually declined with the whale population and then all but ended in coastal New Zealand waters. The beginning of the 20th century brought industrial whaling, and the catch grew rapidly. By 1937, according to whalers' records, 38,000 were captured in the South Atlantic, 39,000 in the South Pacific, and 1,300 in the Indian Ocean. Given the incompleteness of these records, the total take was somewhat higher.

As it became clear that stocks were nearly depleted, right whaling was banned in 1937. The ban was largely successful, although some illegal whaling continued for several decades. Madeira took its last two right whales in 1968. Illegal whaling continued off the coast of Brazil for many years and the Imbituba station processed right whales until 1973. The Soviet Union admitted illegally taking over 3,300 during the 1950s and 1960s, although it only reported taking 4. It was also revealed that Japan was supporting these destructive hunts by neglecting and disregarding monitoring obligations. Furthermore, there were agreements between Japan and the Soviet Union to keep their illegal mass whaling activities in foreign/international protected waters in confidence.

Whales began to be seen again in Australian and New Zealand waters from the early 1960s. It is claimed that if none of the illegal hunts by Soviet Union never happened, the New Zealand population would be three or four times larger than its current size.