Southern Right Whale

Apperance
Right Whales are slow, lumbering, skimmer-feeders. They are surprisingly acrobatic and may be seen waving their flippers above the surface, breaching, lobtailing, and flipper-slapping. Their baleen plates are narrow, up to 2 metres long. These whales are black in colour with a large stocky body. They have large flippers which triangular but they have no dorsalk nose. The head is rounded. White , barnacle-covered bumps or callosities appear on the top of the head. The twin blow holes  are seperated and angle ot giving V shape when blow.

Weight

Length
The Southern Right Whale grows to a average of 15 metres.

Habitat
 Right Whales migrate to warmer temperate waters to give birth and mate. They migrate from Antartic feeding grunds to Southern Australia to mate.They seldom reach a speed of 9km/hr and take over a month to swim the 5000 km or so distance from the sub-Antarctic waters.

Eating and Diet Habits
The Southern Right Whales swim along the surface with their mouths open sieving plankton and other small fish and crustaceans.

Predators
The only predator to a Southern Right Whale is men.

Breeding Habits
Right Whales migrate to warmer temperate waters to give birth and mate. The new-born calves have virtually no blubber to insulate them from the cold. They are fattened on rich whale milk which has a 40% fat content. Most births occur in early winter, after which the adults begin their courtship displays of breaching, tail splashing, jostling and caressing.Calves stay close to their mothers, suckling for a year or less and playing together. 
                                                                        

Locations
They migrate from Antartic feeding grunds to Southern Australia to mate.
                                                

Numbers
Today the world population numbers about 2,000 of which 500 visit southern Australian waters to mate and breed.

Problems

• Today the world population numbers about 2,000 of which 500 visit southern Australian waters to mate and breed.
• From an estimated world population of 100,000 whales, 30,000 were taken from Australian and New Zealand waters alone from whalers.
• The name came from whalers because they believed it was the 'right' whale to catch since it was a slow swimmer, yeilded high bludder and oil and it even floated when dead so they went after it.
• It is feared that the eastern American stock, now less than 300, is in great danger of extinction due to the accidental deaths of right whales involved in shipping accidents. It may never recover and become extinct in America.
• The whales mate and give birth in warmer water, but there is no food in these warmer waters for the mothers, who must fast while they raise their young.
• They swim on the surface to get plankton and are made easy targets for predators.
• When they are in the shallow warmer waters the are closer to the whalers and easier targets.
• Whalers get big money from the slaughter of whales. In Japan whale meat can fetch up to $30 per kilogram.
• Low frequency active sonar can travel great distances and detect quiet submarines. The system uses intense sound. A NATO LFA exercise in 1998 left numerous dead beaked whales on the coast of Greece. LFA testing off the Island of Hawaii in 1998 caused humpback whales to leave the test area, apparently resulted in separation of whale and dolphin calves from their mothers, and injured a snorkeler in the water.
• Norway has a annual whale hunt and it is expected to kill a total of 549 minkle whales.
• The decline in crustaceans numbers from man again.
• They are too hard to capture and start a breeding program with little knowledge of them.
• Increasing tourist interest in the whales at breeding and feeding grounds which can cause some disturbance to the whales.
• Accidental propeller cuting the the whale when submerging near boats.
  
  

Solutions

• To stop the killing of whales for commercial and cultural purposes.
• Stop the needless killing of whales.
• Reduce accidental whale deaths by beaching ect..
• Research the whales to try find a miracle to breed them and bring their numbers back up.
• Fund money to pay coast gaurd or other navy to watch and gaurd the remaining populations of Southern Right Whales from whalers and it shouldn't take long for all the whalers to give up or end up in jail.
• Control whale tourism to avoid disturbing the southern right whales.
• When come across a Southern Right Whale whale stay at a distance to avoid disturbing or accidental injury by propeller.
• Donate money to the Whales in Danger fighting Trust Fund. The money will not be spent and you will get it back they are only borrowing it like a bank and are putting it in trust accounts and making interest from it which they will save the whales with. You will get a lovely Certificate with amount on it from them. Just send it to them at and remember to supply them with address and details.
                                          Whales in Danger Trust
                                                       P.O. Box 224
                                                    Willoughby, 2068
                                                           Australia
• The navy stop using Low frequency active sonar and research or get new advanced radars which do not disturb the whales.