Southern Right Whale
Let’s take a big breath and find out more about the Southern right whale and Australian Marine parks.
Southern right whales are the gentle giants of the ocean. They are a popular species for whale watching across southern Australia, and there is nothing more special than seeing one of these beautiful creatures with your bare eyes.
Tragically, they gained the name “right” whale as they were the whales that were “right” to hunt due to the near-shore waters that they occupy during breeding. This nearly caused the species to become extinct, however, now that they have had a chance to recover, their populations have improved in numbers.
The southern right whales can be found across the Australian Marine Park network, as they utilise marine parks to safely migrate, feed and breed.
Worldwide there are around 13,000 southern right whales, with 3,200 from two genetically distinct Australian populations. 1-3
Importance of Marine Parks
Marine parks provide a safe place for southern right whales, particularly for breeding. Additionally, in protected areas, there are limited amounts of human activities, including boat traffic and fishing pressure on potential food sources for the whales.
The Encounter Marine Park, Far West Coast Marine Park and Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park provide important safe ground for the southern right whale to give birth to their calves in the winter months.
Classification
There are three species of right whales – defined by the ocean areas where they live.
North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) are found in coastal waters off the eastern side of the United States and Canada; North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) are found in the North Pacific Ocean; while Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are found in the Southern Ocean, and southern parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The three species differ genetically, however they look quite similar in external appearance, lacking dorsal fins and having distinctive white callosities around the mouth, above the eyes, and on top of their head. They reach a maximum length of 17.5 metres and a weight of around 80 tonnes, with females slightly heavier than males. 3
Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Chordata
Class – Mammalia
Order – Artiodactyla
Family – Balaenidae
Genus and Species – Eubalaena australis
Distribution
Where can you find the Southern Right Whale?
Globally, southern right whales are only present in the southern hemisphere. 4 Foraging and feeding occur offshore, in deeper waters located with highly productive oceanic regions of the Southern Ocean. For calving, the whales migrate northwards to coastal environments off the coasts of Australia, southern Africa, and South America.
Southern right whales can be found in their calving grounds from May to October. These are located across southern Australia, from as far north as Exmouth on the west coast and Hervey Bay on the east coast, although most whales are found between Perth and Sydney. 4 Their distribution is spread across Australian marine parks in the south-west and south-east marine networks.
During their period in Australian waters, they are commonly spotted from the shore and viewing platforms, mostly across South Australia and Victoria. In South Australia, one of the most popular places to see the whales and their calves is at the Head of the Bight, but also Fowlers Bay and Sleaford Bay off the Eyre Peninsula, and Encounter Bay, on the Fleurieu Peninsula. 5,6
In the Great Australian Bight Marine Park, up to one hundred whales can be spotted at once!
The South Australian Whale Centre in Victor Harbor is a great place to find out more information about the southern right whale, learn about their history, whale watch, and gain information on whale sightings.
Habitat
It is quite unknown what the feeding habitat is of the southern right whale, although it is likely in deep offshore habitats, often in the marine parks, of the Southern Ocean where there is high productivity of food sources.
Their breeding habitats are better understood, with near-shore, shallow, warmer waters preferred for calving.
Southern right whales like to come back to the same location to breed year after year – so much so that locals recognise and name their resident whales. 7
Southern right whales like to come back to the same location to breed year after year – so much so that locals recognise and name their resident whales. 7
Sea Country
Southern right whales occur throughout First Nations’ Sea Country. Sea Country includes all oceans, beaches, land, and freshwater coastline. It covers all plants and animals, including the southern right whale.
Sea Country encompasses the weather, sky, and People. It includes all living things, beliefs, values, spirits, and cultural obligations from coastal areas.
Southern-right whales migrate throughout most areas of Sea Country, so are not tied to one particular area. However, the habitat and protected bays of Mirning, Wirangu, and Ngarrindjeri Sea Countries are particularly important in providing areas for the whales to breed.
Role in the ecosystem
What do southern right whales eat?
Southern right whales are baleen whales, with long strands of baleen in their mouths which are used to filter through food.
Like other baleen whales, they open their mouths wide skimming below the surface of the water to bring in zooplankton, alongside water. They then use the baleen to filter the water back through, leaving the zooplankton behind in their mouth. Although they eat whatever zooplankton is available to them, it is thought that southern right whales eat predominantly krill, and sometimes copepods and amphipod crustaceans. 8
The South-west Marine Park network provides nutrient-rich waters where the food sources of the southern right whale can grow in abundance.
What eats southern right whales?
Not many predators are game to attack these gentle giants, but their calves can be preyed upon by killer whales or white sharks. The only other known predator is significantly smaller than the whale – gulls have been recorded to attack the skin and blubber in Argentina, leaving exposed wounds across both adult and young whales. Although this behaviour is currently limited to Argentinian waters, there is concern that this behaviour could spread to other gull populations, causing a threat to southern right whale populations.
Reproduction
Mating
Southern right whales form large aggregations when mating, with many males trying to mate singular females. 7 Although other male species can compete against each other in aggressive displays in order to mate with the female, southern right whales act differently. Instead, multiple males are predicted to mate with one female, with the hope that the large quantity of sperm they deliver will dominate genetically. Although this is a vastly understudied area of whale biology where more research is needed.
Breeding
Mother whales stay pregnant for around 12 months calves being born during the winter months after the mothers have migrated north to warmer waters. At the Head of the Bight, boats and vessels are not allowed to enter the Marine Mammal Protection Area between May and October every year, to ensure the calves can be born safely. A mother will have a calf every three-four years – allowing one year for pregnancy, one year for nursing, and one year for gaining strength and body condition before falling pregnant again. 7
A calf will stay alongside its mother for a year, where it will double in size growing from 4-6 metres in length when it is first born to 10-12 metres at one year of age.
Tourism
Southern right whales breeding grounds hug the coastline – making them one of the best whales to spot during whale watching season!
At the Head of Bight whale watching centre on the far west coast, you can witness literally hundreds of whales breeding in the Great Australian Bight. From early June to October, this magical sight can be seen.
At Fowlers Bay, EP Cruises takes boat and kayak tours into the bay to allow tourists to witness the beautiful whales while on the water.
Victor Harbor is another excellent whale watching location – with many southern right whale mothers coming into the protected cliffs to give birth. Head to the South Australian Whale Centre in Victor Harbor to learn more about our whales. Or jump on a boat tour with Big Duck Boat Tours to see the whales from the water at a safe distance.
Environmental Threats
Hunting and other threats
Historically, southern right whale numbers were drastically reduced by whaling. They were highly sought-after for their large blubber and oil content, and their numbers have only begun to recover in recent decades as laws prohibiting their hunting were created.
Now, the main threats to southern right whales include entanglement in fishing gear and other marine debris, vessel disturbance and collisions, habitat deterioration (including noise pollution), and reduced prey availability due to overfishing and climate change. 3
Natural threats include disease and predation from killer whales and large sharks. Although these threats individually may not cause major damage, when combined they can threaten population growth and recovery. Their low population recovery has led to them being defined as ‘Endangered’ in Australia under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
This factsheet is part of the University of Adelaide's Fab Five project, focused on raising awareness of five fabulous species and the marine parks that help protect them. This 'Our Marine Parks Grants' project received grant funding from the Australian Government.
References
1. Stamation, K., et al., Population estimate and rate of increase of southern right whales Eubalaena australis in southeastern Australia. Endangered Species Research, 2020. 41.
2. Carroll, E., et al., Population structure and individual movement of southern right whales around New Zealand and Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2011. 432: p. 257-268.
3. Department of Sustainability, E., Water, Population and Communities, Conservation Management Plan for the Southern Right Whale: A Recovery Plan under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 2011-2021. 2012.
4. Bannister, J., Status of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Australia. J. Cetacean Res. Manage., 2020: p. 103-110.
5. Charlton, C., et al., Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), seasonal abundance and distribution at Head of Bight, South Australia. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2019. 29(4): p. 576-588.
6. Charlton, C., et al., Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) return to a former wintering calving ground: Fowlers Bay, South Australia. Marine Mammal Science, 2019. 35(4): p. 1438-1462.
7. Burnell, S.R., Aspects of the reproductive biology, movements and site fidelity of right whales off Australia. J. Cetacean Res. Manage., 2020: p. 89-102.
8. Seyboth, E., et al., Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) Reproductive Success is Influenced by Krill (Euphausia superba) Density and Climate. Scientific reports, 2016. 6: p. 28205-28205.
