For this reason there are fairly distinct populations of females utilizing the calving grounds in successive years. The mothers stay close to shore, lying quietly at the surface while their calves rest or frolic about them. Right whales migrate between feeding and breeding grounds, but probably never across the equator. For example, right whales bear young off Argentina and swim south to feed in Antarctic waters. They sieve food through the mat of fine hairs fringing their long baleen plates.
Right whales have the finest of all baleen fringes and specialize in eating the smallest plankton.
Right whales probably live about 50 years or more. Sometime right whales will approach boats. They also sail, holding their flukes out of the water and allow the wind to slowly push them along. There is still so much we do not know about right whales. We are continuing to develop new and promising techniques to learn more.