Scientists named the North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis, which means "good", or "true"
whale of the ice in Latin, the language used by all scientists to name and classify animals and
plants. There are two other species of right whale, Eubalaena australis, which lives in the
southern hemisphere, and Eubalaena japonica, the North Pacific right whale. The three different
species of right whales never meet in their ocean travels. While southern right whales are
increasing at a rate of 7-8% per year, North Atlantic right whales are not showing any signs of
recovering from historical whaling with approximately 350 individuals left....

...Even though right whales in the 21st century are safe from whaler's harpoons, they continue to
face other serious threats to recovery. Right whales die from collisions with ships, and are often
injured and scarred, and sometimes die, from entanglements in fishing gear. Scientists and
government officials in both the United States and Canada are working with the shipping and fishing
industries to find ways for right whales and humans to coexist safely in the ocean.

Right Whale Head

Some scientists believe that if right whales continue to be killed in accidents caused by humans
and if they continue to give birth to such small numbers of calves each year, they could be extinct
in less than 200 years


http://www.rightwhaleweb.org/index.php?mc=2&p=2