BREAKING NEWS! A first in Elding history; a north atlantic right whale was seen in Reykjavík today, 23 July 2018.
It is one of the most endangered of all large whales, with a long history of human exploitation and no signs of recovery despite protection from whaling since the 1930's. The female north atlantic right whale can reach 18 m. and the males strech to 12.9 m. The species can weigh up to 96,000 kg. and it is estimated that they live longer than 30 years. Sightings are exceptionally rare in places outside North America so seeing it in Icelandic waters is quite a find!
Whalers gave the name “right” whale to this species because they thought it was the 'correct' whale to hunt. It was easy to kill because it swam slowly and once dead, it floated. This made it easier for the whalers to pull the whales onto ships and to shore, to boil the blubber for oil. The huntings of the right whale drove it to near extinction! Between 300 and 500 individuals still exist in the world, but despite seven decades of protection efforts, no population growth has been observed.
The Right Whale holds the title of the animal with the biggest pair of family jewels (testicles), whith each weighing a mind blowing 500 kg. (1,100 lbs.)!
Read more about the North Atlantic Right Whale: elding.is/na-right-whale
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