|
|
  Cover illustration by Byron Gin  
|
Right Whale Tale
These black-gray monstrous beasts earned their name because they were the "right whale" to hunt. They swim slowly, seldom faster than five knots, making them easy targets. Once harpooned and killed, their large stores of oil kept them afloat, making it possible to drag them to shore. Whalers hunted them to just a few hundred by the late 1800s and although protected since 1935, the population has not recovered. Right whales are slow, lumbering, skimmer-feeders. Their baleen plates are narrow, up to 2 meters long, and are used to filter out plankton and krill (small shrimp-like crustaceans) as they cruise along the surface. They are acrobatic and have been seen waving their flippers above the surface, breaching and flipper-slapping. They sometimes raise their flukes at right angles to the wind and use them as sails. This allows them to be blown along through the water and appears to be a type of play, as they will often swim back and do it again. Right whales migrate to warmer temperate waters to give birth and mate. They also teach their young how to swim in the warm sheltered waters. The newborn calves have virtually no blubber to insulate them from the cold. They are fattened on rich whale milk, which has a 40 percent fat content. On this rich diet, calves may double their weight within a week. However, there is no food in these warmer waters for the mothers, who must fast while they raise their young. 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. For more information about right whale rescue, see http://www.coastalstudies.org/. |
