The North Atlantic Right Whale: A Critically Endangered Species

🐋The North Atlantic right whale is one of the largest animals in the world and has a stocky body with a large head and no dorsal fin.

🌊Right whales mainly occur in the western North Atlantic and are rarely seen in the eastern North Atlantic.

🍽️Right whales feed on copepods and other zooplankton by straining large volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates.

🐳Female right whales give birth to a single calf after a yearlong pregnancy and typically take several years before giving birth again.

🛳️Entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships are the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths.

How many North Atlantic right whales are left?

—There are only 340 North Atlantic right whales remaining.

Where do North Atlantic right whales mainly occur?

—North Atlantic right whales mainly occur in the western North Atlantic, specifically in waters off the coast of the USA and Canada.

What do North Atlantic right whales eat?

—North Atlantic right whales feed on copepods and other zooplankton by filtering large volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates.

How often do female right whales give birth?

—Female right whales typically give birth to a single calf after a yearlong pregnancy and usually take several years before giving birth again.

What are the main threats to North Atlantic right whales?

—The main threats to North Atlantic right whales are entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships.

00:00The North Atlantic right whale is a critically endangered baleen whale species with only 340 individuals remaining.

01:14North Atlantic right whales are frequently found in coastal and continental shelf waters, and their distribution is strongly correlated to the distribution of their prey.

01:27Right whales feed on copepods and other zooplankton by straining large volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates.

02:12Female right whales become able to reproduce at about age 10 and give birth to a single calf after a yearlong pregnancy.

02:47Adult North Atlantic right whales can grow up to 52ft (16m) long and are estimated to live at least 70 years.