We noticed this group of Northern Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) from long off, although we were reluctant about making the identification until we saw the diagnostic V-shaped blow a few times to be certain. Although we approached them very cautiously and kept a fair distance, these whales were easy to approach, their slow speed likely one of the reasons they are so endangered. In fact, these whales likely earned their scientific name of "good" or "true" whale because they were the "right whale" to catch for early hunters. Northern Right Whales were easy for hunters to approach and generally floated when killed, providing easy access to their thick blubber and the exceptionally long baleen in their mouths. The combination of these factors and the whales' proximity to oceanic population centers like Spain and Newfoundland helped spell this whales rapid decline in numbers to the about 300 existing today.

These whales have no dorsal fin, but have rough growths on their mouths that are often tinted pink from colonies of "whale lice" that make their homes there. These growths, or callosities, have been used to keep track of individuals over long periods of time. These whales winter much farther south, but some return to the Gulf of Maine each year for feeding and courtship.