right whales

Right Whales Can Live 130 Years or Longer, Research Finds

Right Whales Can Live 130 Years or Longer, Research Finds

Scientists have estimated that bowhead whales — the longest-living whale species — can live more than 200 years. It was once thought that the bowhead’s cousin, the right whale, had an average lifespan of about 70 to 80 years, but new research has revised that estimate to more than 130 years — nearly twice as […]

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    Lobster Industry Ensnared in North Atlantic Right Whale Deaths

    Lobster Industry Ensnared in North Atlantic Right Whale Deaths

    By Sam Schipani Last year was not a good one for the North Atlantic right whale. Seventeen of them were discovered to have died, about 4 percent of a total population of 455. Numbers have been low for decades—the species was declared endangered in 1973—but if the current trend continues, the North Atlantic right whale, […]

    North Atlantic Right Whale Population Dips Below 450 After ‘Deadliest Year’ Since Whaling Era

    North Atlantic Right Whale Population Dips Below 450 After ‘Deadliest Year’ Since Whaling Era

    Fifteen North Atlantic right whales—one of the most endangered of all large whales—have already died this year in U.S. and Canadian waters, according to researchers. “This makes it pretty much the deadliest year we’ve seen for North Atlantic right whales since the days of whaling,” Tonya Wimmer, director of Canada’s Marine Animal Response Society, told […]

    Fishing Gear Entanglement Number One Killer of Right Whales

    Fishing Gear Entanglement Number One Killer of Right Whales

    The population of endangered North Atlantic right whales is under threat due to entanglement in fishing gear and a resulting drop in birth rates, according to a study published by the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Even though North Atlantic rightwhales numbers have modestly increased from 295 individuals in 1992 to 500 individuals in 2015, […]