Biologists have recently spotted a species of whale believed to be almost extinct off the coast of British Columbia.
The Pacific right whale, or Eubalena Japonica, has made its first appearance in 61 years. It is the rarest of the whales known to still inhabit the oceans, and there are probably less than 50 total in the eastern Pacific.
The biologist who spotted the whale had been searching for one of them his entire life and was exhilarated when he finally was able to see one.
Their name "right whale" derives from a simple reflection of its ease of catch. They were in short, the 'right' whales to hunt. They were very large, offering a great quantity of blubber, and therefore very slow swimmers, making them an easy target. They also float once they are speared. Their mouths have a filtering apparatus, the baleen, which was very prized, since it was made into corsets for women.
See the video below of the whale finding:
http://www.livescience.com/37686-rare-whale-spotted-video.html#ooid=o2YTZtYzrDuAW9SWXVZnVZJpt6gQA5jN
Source: Live Science / 6.25.13
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