There are four species, out of a total of 13 existing on the planet: the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), the northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and the bowhead, or roundhead (Balaena mysticetus). This, however, does not mean that the remaining nine species are in a comfortable situation – quite the opposite. Despite fishing being prohibited since 1985, all of them are still at serious risk of literally disappearing from the map, according to Greenpeace, the main world organization for the defense of the environment. The animal has been so persecuted by man over the past nine centuries that it would need much more time and protection to regain normal population numbers. In the 20th century alone, more than 2 million specimens were killed! The risk of extermination is further aggravated by the fact that the reproduction cycle is extremely slow: on average, a female has only one offspring every three years.
The threat got much worse after 1920, when technological progress placed two terrible weapons in the hands of hunters: the harpoon that carries an explosive grenade at the tip and the factory ships, which, in less than two hours, transform an entire whale into tons of meat, barrels of oil and other products already packaged. The biggest single-year slaughter took place in 1961, when 70,000 animals were killed. The ban on hunting came to put an end to this barbarity, but ecologists denounce that Norway and Iceland never respected the law, nor did Japan, which captures around 500 minke whales every year under the pretext of doing scientific research. In addition, the three countries, which have a long tradition of consuming the meat and oil of these animals, always try to overturn the ban at meetings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), a body linked to the UN.
“If they manage to do that, the situation, which is already critical, will get even worse”, says biologist Cristina Bonfiglioli, an independent environmental consultant, formerly of Greenpeace, and one of the greatest Brazilian experts on the subject.
1. Blue WHALE
Estimated population: 400 to 1,400. The largest mammal on Earth reaches a length of up to 33 meters (almost a Boeing 737) and a weight of 130 tons (the equivalent of 25 elephants). Its habitat is the icy seas of Antarctica and the northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
2. ROUND HEAD
Estimated population: 8,000. Better known by the English name bowhead, it can measure up to 18 meters and weigh 100 tons. The roundhead whale lives only in the Arctic
3. NORTHERN FRANCE
Estimated population: 320. Docile and slow, they are easy prey for hunters. They measure up to 18 meters and weigh 80 tons. Their body is almost entirely black, but the head has calluses, which are a kind of wart. Most live on Canada’s Atlantic coast.
4. GRAY WHALE
Estimated population: 26,400. They form groups of a maximum of three animals and reach up to 14 meters and 35 tons. They inhabited the North Atlantic and Pacific regions, but ended up being decimated in the Atlantic. Almost all survivors are found on the west coast of Canada and the United States.
5. Southern minke
Only recently has it been recognized as a different species from the common minke. Lives around Antarctica
6. minke
The most numerous species of all has an estimated population of 900,000 whales. Appears in all oceans, but prefers cooler waters
7. Pygmy frank
It is the smallest and least known whale on the planet. Does not reach 7 meters and inhabits the seas near Tasmania, New Zealand and South Africa
8. Bryde’s Whale
It is the only one that exclusively inhabits tropical and subtropical waters (with temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius) in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
9. I know
It is one of the fastest species, reaching speeds of up to 50 km/h. Spreads across all oceans except polar regions
10. humpback
It is the mammal with the longest migratory cycle on Earth: some humpbacks leave Antarctica to mate in Central America. It lives in all oceans and visits the Brazilian coast
11. sperm whale
It gained fame for having inspired the monstrous main character of the novel Moby Dick, by Herman Melville – but, in real life, it does not reach 20 meters
12. Southern France
Found in the Southern Hemisphere, it was one of the first species to be hunted. In the early 19th century alone, around 45,000 were killed
13. End
It reaches 100 years of age and is the second species in size, reaching over 26 meters. Found in deep waters in the North Atlantic and Pacific and also in Antarctica
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