I never met a “Right Whale” I didn’t like.
This is most likely because until last week, I never knew “Right Whales” even existed.
Shame on me.
Worse yet, is that the “Right Whale” species is endangered — less than 400 of these magnificent creatures remain in the world.
Shame on all of those responsible.
Let’s first answer why they are called “Right Whales” — a truly disturbing answer it is.
According to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), they were given the name “Right Whales” because whalers considered them the “right” whales to hunt — as they were slow, stayed near the surface, were docile, and — crucially — they floated after being killed, making them easy to spot and retrieve for their valuable oil and baleen. Their abundance and ideal characteristics for whaling decimated their populations centuries ago, leading to their endangered status.
My friend, Attorney Garry Taroli, inadvertently informed me of the Right Whale dilemma. I reached out to Garry for his annual New Year’s resolution and he provided a dandy.
Here is Garry’s resolution:
“To increase my support for Threatened and Endangered Species — especially Wolves, Elephants, Pangolins, Vaquitas, and the North Atlantic Right Whales, and to try to increase my support for the Ukrainian People and their Democracy.”
That is what Garry is passionate about. And he has done much to help. He is also a friend of Pete Townshend of The Who and he also provided pro Bono work for the financiers of the 25th Anniversary of Woodstock.
There is much more to Garry, but let’s stick to the Right Whale for now.
“Yes, sadly back in the days of whaling, the Right Whales were called ‘Right Whales’ because they swam close to the coast and would float after they were killed, so the whalers started saying, ‘that’s the right whale to hunt,’ and the name stuck,” Garry said.
Garry went on to say that there are only about 325 to 380 North Atlantic Right Whales remaining in the world and their Marine Reserve — their ocean conservation area — was recently revoked, as were sailing restrictions to lower speeds in the waters that they swim in — and most deaths these days are due to ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements.
Garry said Canada continues to protect Right Whales, and their main birthing area — the Bay of Fundy.
“They are beautiful animals,” Garry said. “I am a regular contributor to several organizations that try to protect Right Whales by advocating legislation and educational efforts with fisherman and sailors, and by actually putting trained swimmers in the water to free the Right Whales from entanglements.”
Garry said there is a skeleton of a Right Whale hanging in the Cornell University Paleontology Museum. His son-in-law, Dr. Eric Gelslechiter, is a Graduate Professor at Cornell, and recently Garry attended his graduation, where he received his second Doctorate in Biological and Biometric Science — with an emphasis on Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
Garry said the graduation ceremony was at the historic Barton Hall, where the Grateful Dead performed its best and most famous show on May 8, 1977.
A little research shows that with only around 370-380 North Atlantic Right Whales left and very few reproductive females, their low birth rates combined with ongoing deaths mean the population isn’t recovering, making them one of the world’s most endangered large whale species.
There are an estimated fewer than 70 reproductive females left. The eastern population is extremely rare, with maybe only 30 whales left.
The life expectancy of the Right Whale is 70 years. Since 2010, the population has declined by an estimated 22.
A Right Whale can grow to 52-feet in length and weight 140,000 pounds.
Those who have seen a Right Whale have described them as magnificent creatures.
We should live in a world where everything humanly possible should be done to preserve endangered species like the Right Whale. We should always take any and all measures to assure that everything humanly possible is being done to accomplish that goal — now and forever.
People like Garry Taroli know that it would be a travesty to live in a world without all of those animals that have existed for centuries.
Ever worse would be to live in a world where people — especially those with the most capability to help sustain all those species — stopped caring.
I will leave you with this famous quote from Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, professor, conservationist, and environmentalist, who said:
“The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, ‘What good is it?’”