Name and Status
Where found
Description
Food
Lifespan
Whaling
Laws to Protect Them
Stories about Whales
Interesting Information
Name and Status |
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Its scientific name is Eubaleana Australis because it is a baleen whale.
The Southern Right whale is vulnerable, but it was endangered. People have helped to keep them alive. If anymore are killed they will become endangered again.
Food
Whales eat up to 400 kg of food a day. The Right whales eat krill and plankton. The reason why they eat such small food is because of their baleen plates and their throats are rather small, They can't even swallow an orange!
Instead of teeth they have baleen plates which hang like vertical Venetian blinds from the upper jaw. There are 160 to 360 on each side. The baleen plates are like finger nails.
Man has been killing whales from the beginning of history. The Eskimos were one of the first people to hunt whales. By 1788 the British, French and American ships were hunting the Southern Right whales off the South African coast. Between 1790 and 1825 12000 Southern Right whales were estimated to have been killed.
Whalers would row to the whales from the shore. Once they caught a whale they would bring it to shore and melt the blubber.
 | Shooting at any whale.| Approaching any whale in a boat of any other floating craft, aircraft or helicopter closer than 300 metres. | Failing to move away immediately if a whale surfaces within 300 metres of one's boat or other | craft. | Stopping or lingering closer than 300 metres to a whale.
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"Why does father always kill whales?" He asked his grandfather.
His grandfather said, "He must do what he is supposed to do!"
One day Yukio went to the beach and saw a whale stuck between two hard rocks. The sun was burning the poor whale's back. He could see that the whale was dying. He ran and took a few pails of sea water. Just then his grandfather came and said, "You poor boy, I think you need help with that whale."
Afterwards his father and the whole village came to help put water on the whale. The tide came up and pushed the whale back into the sea. Everyone was happy after that.
The Whale Song
A girl named Lily lived with her grandmother. Her grandmother told her all about the whales in the sea. One night she decided that she wanted to see the whales. She climbed out of bed and went to the wharf hoping to hear the whales sing. She threw her special shell into the sea and half an hour later the whales started singing. After a while they stopped and that night she dreamt about the whales. The next day she went back but the whales had gone.
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The Southern Right whales are identical to their cousins. They cannot breathe through their mouths. To breathe they go to the surface and breathe throught their blowhole which is found on the top of their head. A person would think a whale can swallow a chair but it can't swallow an orange. They have got wartlike things on their back. The warts never change. Whales have different patterns from each other which make them recognizable. |
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