Southern Right Whales

We are so fortuanate to live in the very beautiful coastal town of Hermanus
Yesterday was one of the beautiful days where we were able to spot some whales from the cliffs

The Southern Right Whale is a baleen whale, which means that instead of teeth it has long plates hanging from the top jaw. These baleens work like a sieve when the whale feeds
The Southern Right Whale got its name during the time when they were hunted. They were reffered to as the "right" whales to kill because they would float when dead (which made it easy for the whalers to find them in the ocean and transport them back to the whaling station. These whales have a large amount of oil (also called blubber) and baleen
They are named "Southern" as there are two species worldwide of Right Whales, one in the Northern Hemisphere and the South African species in the Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Right differs from most other whales in the following ways:

• It has no dorsal fin on its back
• When it breathes out there is a V-shaped cloud above the water.
• Presence of callosities on its head. These callosities are white warts or rough skin patches on which little creatures, called whale lice, are attached

The Southern Right Whale is a migratory whale, which means that they spend one season in one place and the rest of the year in another, and travel long distances between these seasons. In summer (December through May), they are in the cold polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere where food (mainly krill) is present and in quantity. Winters (June through November) are spent around the shallow coastal waters of Southern Africa, South America and Australia