Right Whales are mostly black with some white on their bellies, a smooth back with no dorsal fin, and large black square flippers. Commonly right whales are often between thirty and fifty-five feet long and may weigh 100,000 to 200,00 lbs. The right whale's head makes up about one third of it's overall length while each side of their mouths contains nearly four hundred 7 to 10 foot long baleen plates. These "plates" are what the whales have instead of teeth and are used to filter small plankton out of the water. Baleen is made of carotin the same material as your fingernails and more closely related to hair than our teeth. Right whales have white callosity patches on their heads in the same place human males have facial hair. Callosities are horny growths that are covered in barnacles and whale lice. These patches form patterns which vary enough to each whale that they can be used to tell them apart and name them.

We saw Right Whales on sixteen trips during the summer of 1996 and during one trip saw six. We were thrilled to find a baby playing in seaweed on July 16th. This youngster was using it's head to gently lift the seaweed out of the water. Eventually the young one got interested in us and came over and swam down the length of the boat. We also saw Right Whales breaching and skim feeding along the surface with their mouth's open for plankton. Right whales have large black tails that can be 12 to 16 feet across. We have found that people always cheer when Right whales show us their magnificent tails when making their final deep dive.

If you are interested in learning more about Right Whales and helping save them you can always adopt one. The money from adoptions goes directly toward research aimed at conserving the whales. Adopting a whale for yourself or as a gift really does make a big difference for the people involved in protecting them. For more information you may write to the Right Whale Adoption Program, New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110 or call (617) 973 6582.