The Eubalena australis also known as the Southern Right whale is a unique and amazing animal. They are the wonderful magnificent creatures that roam our dangerously cold waters. 

 

Normal sized Southern Right whales weigh between fifty tons to ninety tons.  In length they are about forty to sixty feet long.  Some of the skin and coloration features are the callosities.  Callosities are white bumps on the body normally infested with lice.  Coloration features on unique whales include white spots on the bottom of the belly.  Most Southern Right whales are long and stocky and they do not have a dorsal fin.  Last its head covers one fourth of its whole body! 

 

As you can see these animals are not exactly land animals, their destiny is the big blue ocean. Most of the animals live on the shore of New Zealand.  Others live and migrate towards Antarctica.  Long ago these animals used to show up north of the Kermadec islands.  An interesting fact I learned about the Southern Right whale is back in the 1840s there were so many in the Wellington Harbor the residents complained of all the whales keeping them up at night.

 

Since of 2001 the population recorded of the Southern Right whales worldwide is about 10,000.  In Africa, there were about 3,400.  In Argentina, there were about 2,600.  Then in New Zealand the area population drops down to 900.  What killed most of these whales are the big cargo ships that pass by. Some others are poisoned by the water they are in because some parts of the ocean are very polluted and filled with toxic waste. 

​

If you think these whales are big eaters well your right.  Mostly, the primary food source is zoo plankton, but that is depending on where they are located.  Each day these animals eat about twenty pounds of zoo plankton.  If you were thinking these animals got so big from eating other big sea creatures, it’s false.  Zoo plankton is very small particles that roam around the ocean. 

​

If you think that’s a lot of interesting facts and unique life styles this is just the beginning.  Some of the interesting things I learned about this whale are the fact that it eats over twenty pounds a day and how their heads are one fourth of its whole body.  Another interesting fact I learned about this animal are the callosities on its body and how it is infested with lice.  If you were wondering how the lice can live on the whale while being in the water it probably means that the lice are dead but they just cling on to them as they go.  As you can see this is one of the amazing animals that make people wonder what makes them so interesting and rare today. 

​

Author: Cody G.   
Published: Feb. 16, 2011

 

Sources:
Gerard, Hutching. “Southern Right Whale.” Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. David Bateman, 16 July 2005. Web 6 Feb. 2011. http ://www.teara.govt.nz/ 

R., Stewart. “Welcome-Office of Protected Resources-NOAA Fisheries.” NOAA :: National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA, 6 Feb. 2001. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/. 

Tennoe, Lambert M. SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE. New York: Beta Script, 2009. Print