Tags Southern Right Whales Whale Calves Swimming Kelp Gulls Waters Surface For Air Breathing Peninsula Valdes Whales Marine Mammals South Atlantic Ocean Cetaceans Oceans Marine Wildlife

Southern Right Whale and a Calf Swim

A southern right whale and a calf swim and surface for air in the open waters of Peninsula Valdes in Argentina, as a kelp gull flies above.

Image ID 56752331
Production Year 2020
Length 00:00:12
Production Company The View South
Resolution
FormatMP4

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Synopsis

Southern right whales are large baleen whales that inhabit the Southern Hemisphere, migrating between feeding grounds in colder waters and breeding areas in warmer coastal regions. The southern right whale was classified as 'least concern' in 2017 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to threats such as entanglement from fishing gear and ship strikes. In the waters around Argentina, kelp gulls have developed a behaviour where they attack southern right whales by stripping flesh from their backs as the whale’s surface for air. This aggressive feeding strategy causes painful wounds, leading to infections and forcing the whales to change their natural behaviour to avoid the gulls.

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Production Companies

The View South