|
| Distribution |
Occurs off the entire length of the NC coastline, as it is essentially migratory past our state. There are stranding records for five of the eight coastal counties.
Restricted to the northern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Bahamas and FL northward to Newfoundland and Labrador. |
| Abundance |
Globally endangered; listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an Endangered Species. In strong decline, with perhaps only 300 individuals in its entire range, as of 2013. Along and off NC, it is very rare and declining in observation; only a few NC records in the past 10-20 years. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History mammal collections (2016) listed 31 sighting and stranding records for NC; but the 2021 version lists just seven specimens in their collection. |
| Seasonal Occurrence |
Primarily between late fall and early spring, off NC. It breeds in the warmer waters off GA and FL in the winter, and moves northward to summer off the Maritime Provinces, for the most part. It then migrates southward in late fall. Interestingly, the four strandings along the NC coast, as of 1995 (Webster et al., 1995) were from February to April. Most of the dates in the 2016 NMNH database fall between December and April, with a few into June, and one in October; there are no stranding records from July - September. |
| Habitat |
The offshore ocean, seldom seen from shore. |
| Behavior |
This is a slow-moving species, which unfortunately made it easy for early whalers to kill. It is relatively sluggish and non-acrobatic, though the tail flukes are often seen as it dives. |
| Comments |
The main threats currently are entanglement in fishing lines and collision with ships/boats; formerly, it was heavily hunted, the main reason for the precipitous decline in the past 100-200 years. This is a somewhat recently "split" species, as for most of the 20th Century this was called the Right Whale, found in both the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic, as well as the Pacific oceans. The complex now consists of the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis), the North Pacific Right Whale (E. japonica), and the Southern Right Whale (E. australis). |
| Origin |
Native |
| NC List |
Official |
 State Rank |
S1M |
| State Status |
|
| Global Rank |
G1 |
| Federal Status |
E |
| subspecies |
|
| other_comName |
Right Whale, Northern Right Whale |
| synonym |
|
