A Tale of a Right Whale
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A Tale of a Right Whale
CREDIT: New England Aquarium, Photographer Chris Slay
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A Whale Named Phoenix
In the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, she’s # 1705. To those who have tracked her since birth in the waters between Canada and Florida, she’s Phoenix. That scientists know her by name tells you how few North Atlantic right whales remain. She’s called Phoenix because, like that mythical bird, she seemed to be “reborn,” surviving a life-threatening entanglement in fishing gear in 1997.
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The “Right” Whale to Hunt
Why is this species called a “right” whale? For whalers, they were the right whale to hunt. They swim slowly in accessible coastal waters, rest at the surface, and float when killed. They yielded much profitable oil and baleen. They were easy, lucrative prey. But being right for whalers hasn’t been right for them: Phoenix and her kin are still among the most endangered whales, even though hunting has been banned for more than 70 years.
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Who’s That Whale?
The North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog has information on each whale. Photos of whales are snapped from ships and airplanes. The distinct pattern of callosities (rough patches) on their heads as well as scars (such as those caused by fishing lines) distinguish each whale. Snapshots are matched to photos in the catalog to identify the individual. Sighting records are accessible online and provide a diary of each whale.
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Finding Phoenix
North Atlantic Right whales migrate seasonally between calving grounds and feeding grounds along the eastern coast of the United States. Researchers track them from the air or on ships. Phoenix has been tracked since January of 1987 when she was first spotted as a calf with her mother Stumpy swimming in calving grounds off the coast of Georgia.
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Beware of Fishing Gear
There were fewer than 450 North Atlantic right whales in 2006. Yet it has been illegal to hunt them since 1935. Why haven’t populations increased? Traits that made right whales easy to hunt make them vulnerable to ship collisions and fishing gear. Sometimes, as the whales feed, they get entangled in lines attached to gear at the bottom of the ocean. Phoenix badly injured her right lip this way, leaving a scar from that ordeal.
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When Ships Strike
Right whales and ocean-going vessels often cross paths. Phoenix’s mother was killed in a collision with a ship. When whales are sighted in U.S. waters, fishing boats are alerted to pull up gear, and ships are notified to slow down, keep their distance, or leave the area. Still, ship strikes are the leading cause of North Atlantic right whale deaths today. Pollution, habitat degradation, and declining prey are other factors that may be impacting their numbers.
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Can Right Whales Recover?
To date Phoenix has raised three calves, including one named Smoke (#2605) who gave birth to a calf in 2007—making Phoenix a grandmother. Phoenix and every other North Atlantic right whale are critical to the species’ survival. The population is so small that scientists cannot reliably forecast future population size. But the future may look brighter. A record-high 39 calves were documented in 2009.
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Page 8
A Model Whale
At nearly 45 feet long, a full-scale model of Phoenix dominates the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. It took four years and the work of designers, painters, sculptors, engineers, whale biologists, and exhibit fabricators to create the model that is perfect down to the placement of every hair and scar. Constructing a model this big presented many design challenges never attempted before.
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