North Atlantic Right Whale
A broad back, rough head callosities, and V-shaped blow identify one of Earth’s rarest whales when it gathers seasonally off Massachusetts.
Artwork inspired by Frank Weston Benson
North Atlantic right whales use Cape Cod Bay and nearby Massachusetts waters as major seasonal feeding habitat, sometimes concentrating where dense copepods collect. They have no dorsal fin, and each whale carries a distinctive pattern of raised callosities that researchers use much like a fingerprint.
Entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes remain leading threats, while shifting prey changes where and when whales appear. Shore-based watching can be excellent when animals feed near the surface, but distance and current rules always govern. Boaters should slow down, monitor notices, and never steer toward a whale for a closer photograph.
- Massachusetts use
- Seasonal feeding habitat
- Field mark
- No dorsal fin
- Blow
- Distinctive V shape
Quick guide
- Scan
- Watch winter and spring water from shore.
- Confirm
- Combine callosities, broad back, and missing dorsal fin.
Identify a right whale at respectful distance
- Blow
- Two widely separated blowholes create a V when wind allows.
- Back
- The smooth broad back lacks a dorsal fin.
- Head
- Pale rough callosities cluster around the rostrum and mouth.
- Behavior
- Surface feeding can show the arched jaw, but do not approach it.
Good to know
A whale reported yesterday may be many miles away today. Right whales follow dense, shifting prey patches, so a recent sighting is evidence of regional presence—not a route to pursue an individual.
Notice these
- V-shaped blow
- No dorsal fin
- Head callosities