Welcome to the Marine Mili series, a regular column about all things marine!  During this series I aim to inspire people to want to protect our oceans and all the marine life that call our oceans home. Hopefully after reading each column, you would have learnt something new including what we can do to help protect and preserve our oceans. You can follow me and my journey on my Instagram page: _marine_mili. 
 

Did you know Southern right whales got their name because they were the right whale to hunt according to ancient whalers? That’s just the start of the fun facts; lets deep dive into the mysterious life of Southern right whales.

Have you noticed Southern right whales have weird bumps on their faces and wondered what these are?

The Southern right whales unique appearance is due to these masses on their faces called callosities. Whale callosities are patches of rough raised skin, similar to the thickened skin we get on our hands and feet (calluses).

These callosities are a cream to yellow colour and are actually masses of whale lice that live their entire lives on the Southern right whale’s upper jaw, lower jaw and around their blowhole.

Scientists have different ways to identify individual cetaceans in most species. For the Humpback whale, it's the underside of their fluke which is like their fingerprint.

For Southern right whales, it’s their callosities as each whale has a different callosity pattern.

Southern right whales lack a dorsal fin, making them harder to be seen by boats on the water. When Southern right whales rest, their back partially sticks out of the water, which can look like a log on the water’s surface, often leading to boat strikes. If you do see an injured whale, please contact Wildlife Victoria's Whale and Dolphin Emergency Hotline. They will be able to go out and assess the whale and help it. 

Southern rights are endangered in Victoria with only 300 individuals or less left in the wild. This species was hit especially hard by whaling practices and unlike other species has not bounced back very well. Over 150,000 individuals were killed at the beginning of the 17th century but the population was hit hardest in the 18th and 19th century.

Southern rights are slow movers and slow to breed (only breeding every three years, and pregnancies last 11-12 months) which isn’t helping build their population back up. Hopefully in future the we will start to see more of these magnificent whales as the population grows... 

In the last few weeks, some Southern right whales have been spotted around Phillip Island which is exciting news as they haven't been seen in the area since 2023.