Right Whale Quick Facts . The smallest of baleen whales, this resident of the Southern Hemisphere is known only from scattered sightings and strandings. It has now been classified in its own family Neobalaenidae. Next to some of the larger rorquals, right whales are the largest living animals. Though not as long as the blue whale, they are stockier and have more massive heads.
Right whales remain among the rarest of marine mammals.
The bowhead is found in northern waters, summering in the Arctic Ocean. The northern right whale is found in more temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere, while the southern right whale is found in similar waters south of the Equator. Rorquals feed by swimming through the sea, filtering tiny animals out of the water with their baleen, which is longer and more flexible than in rorquals. Although it is still considered rare, the bowhead is hunted by Alaska Natives. During two field seasons studying bowhead whales at Barrow, Alaska, bowheads made me jump when I listened to underwater recordings.