Southern Right Whale

This mammal is up to 20 meters long. It frequently visits the seas of the southern hemisphere (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and the south of Africa). It can be distinguished from other whales at a distance because it does not have a dorsal fin, and for the “V” shaped exhalation from the dorsum of its head.

Its diet is based on large quantities of small copepods and crustaceans (the “krill”, Euphausia superba) which are filtered using baleen plates in their jaws, the “whale bristles”, as it swims in half-hour immersions.

Female whales bear a single offspring every 3 or 4 years after a gestation period of 11 to 12 months.

The only natural predator of this whale is another sea mammal, smaller but equipped with conical teeth: the Killer Whale (Orcinus orca), which attacks it in groups.

The Southern Right Whale has been declared “Natural Monument” by the National Law 23094/84. This recognition is given to areas or living animal and plant species that deserve protection for their aesthetic, scientific, or historical value.