Functionally Extinct
Right Whales will be gone in one generation
Right whales were named Right Whales, because they were…..well the “right” whales to kill.
They were the “right” whales to kill [for whale oil] because they swam right up to the boats.
There are less than 340 North Atlantic Right Whales left in existence. And if things don’t change drastically they will be extinct.
The History
In the 1600s when the English arrived they began murdering the whales off the eastern coast of the continent. Eventually decimating the population.
In the years since the end of factory whaling the population began to bounce back. But these animals faced long odds before modern container ships started hitting them.
The whale lives along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada.
“We’re not actually going out and sticking them with a piece of steel anymore. We’re just ruining their lives.”
But that area has become increasingly deadly for the whales. They most commonly face threats from boat collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.
