Balaenidae (bowhead whales, right whales)

Balaenidae
There are four species in this family. They are found in the cold and temperate waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They are large baleen whales with a bow-shaped lower jaw and a large head that is up to one third of their total length. They are black with white patches and have a scattering of hair on their lower and upper jaw. They have two blowholes, rounded front fins, and a thick layer of blubber. They filter feed on krill, plankton, and other small ocean creatures.

North Atlantic Right Whale

Balaenidae General Resources
Balaena (bowhead whale)

Eubalaena (right whales)

Balaenidae General Resources

Right Whales
Right whales have no dorsal fin, a highly arched jaw, and a series of growths on their head called callosities.
Source: National Marine Mammal Laboratory
Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Right Whales
Right whales are baleen whales.
Source: Enchanted Learning Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

Balaena (bowhead whale)

Bowhead Whale
Bowhead whales inhabit the Arctic Ocean and associated seas. They are rarely found below 45 degrees north latitude.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle /High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Bowhead Whale
The bowhead whale's broad back has no dorsal fin.
Source: American Cetacean Society Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle /High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No

Bowhead Whale
Bowhead whales are the only mysticete (baleen) whales that spend their entire lives near sea ice and do not migrate to temperate or tropical waters to calve.
Source: Alaska Department of Fish and Game Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle /High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes

Bowhead Whale
Bowhead whales communicate with each other using long-distance vocalizations.
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Bowhead Whale
Bowhead whales grow to be about 50-60 feet long.
Source: Enchanted Learning Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

Eubalaena (right whales)

North Atlantic Right Whale
This article from the NY Times looks at the status of the north Atlantic right whale and includes an audio slideshow, a multimedia map, and video.
Source: NY Times Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes

North Atlantic Right Whale
The north Atlantic right whale was almost hunted to extinction.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Atlantic Right Whale
The north Atlantic right whale feeds on zooplankton.
Source: National Geographic Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes

North Atlantic Right Whale
North Atlantic right whales feed off the coast of New England and Canada. There birthing grounds are in the warmer shallow waters of the coasts of the southeastern United States.
Source: New England Aquarium Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Atlantic Right Whale
There are only around 300 north Atlantic right whales alive today.
Source: NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Atlantic Right Whale
North Atlantic right whales can weigh as much as 100 tons!
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School Teacher Section: Yes

North Atlantic Right Whale
The north Atlantic right whale is found from Nova Scotia to Florida.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Pacific Right Whale
Adult right whales can be up to 50 feet long!
Source: NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Pacific Right Whale
The north Pacific right whale is found in the northern Pacific.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Pacific Right Whale
Right whales are named right whales because they were the "right whales" to hunt.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

North Pacific Right Whale
North Pacific right whales and North Atlantic right whales are separated by the Arctic Circle.
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School Teacher Section: Yes

Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale has a V-shaped blow hole.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale is found in the southern hemisphere from temperate to polar latitudes.
Source: NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Southern Right Whale
After almost being driven to extinction due to hunting, there are 3,000-4,000 southern right whales in the wild today.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Right Whale Identification Game
Head out to sea with Philip Hamilton, right whale researcher and manager of the Right Whale Catalog at the New England Aquarium and see if you can identify right whales by their callosity patterns! Source: New England Aquarium

Bowhead Whaling and Its Impact
This interactive activity presents images and text from the history of whaling in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas in the Arctic. Source: Teacher's Domain