Not very many. By Ephrat Livni. The North Atlantic right whale got its name from whalers. The right whales currently inhabit around East Coast of North America with 300-500 individuals left. North Pacific Right Whale. Southern Right Whale. Credit: Robbie Shade/CC-BY 2.0 The best estimates from the International Whaling Commission indicate that there are roughly 1.7 million whales in the world. The North Pacific right whale was virtually wiped out in the 1840s after a decade of commercial whaling. It had been a galling month for the many people who care about North Atlantic right whales. There were no known calves born in the winter of 2017/2018. That is how many North Atlantic right whales are left on Earth. Whales have two lungs, one left and one right. With many of these salmon runs depleted, insufficient food has become a major factor in the whales’ decline. The flippers are short and broad with the absence of dorsal fin. Senior reporter, law & politics, DC. The head is exceptionally big in comparison to the body size because it reaches up to 40% of the total body length. For whalers they were the “right” whales to hunt. With fewer than 400 left, they are now the “right” whales to save. Right whales have a robust structure in comparison to other whale species but do not have a groove along their throat. Asked in Endangered, Vulnerable, and Threatened Species, Whales, Right Whales What is the temperature in the oceans that right whales live in? It is estimated that there are some 8000 Southern Right Whales in the world at this time. X. There were no known calves born in the winter of 2017/2018. How Many Whales Are Left in the World? Conservation groups, hydropower regulators, and federal wildlife officials have been skirmishing for years over protections for endangered salmon. Northern right whale mother and calf swimming off the Atlantic coast of Florida. In 1970, the species was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, though its population has been at risk since the whaling days. The expanded orca habitat could improve conditions for the fish as well, Sakashita said. Because these whales travel slowly and spend a lot of time at the surface, they were easy targets. 6. December 11, 2017. How many right whales are there? Habitat: North Pacific Ocean, particularly between 20° and 60° latitude. Fin and sei whales are still hunted by some nations. It's Likely There Aren't More Than 411 Right Whales Left, New Estimate Finds 01:52. Right whales prefer coastlines and sometimes large bays, but may spend a lot of time on the open sea. The threats that haves been haunting these baleen whales are ship strikes, noise pollution and entanglement in … Northern and Southern hemisphere right whale sub-species are separated by the "tropical belt" roughly between the latitudes of 20°N and 20°S. How many are left: No more than 50. There are only 450 North Atlantic right whales left and 17 died in 2017. By the early 1890s, the North Atlantic right whale was on the brink of extinction, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Below are the 10 most endangered whales. Pacific Coast killer whales can’t find enough chinook salmon to eat because inland river dams as well as overfishing have nearly wiped out many fish runs, while climate change is melting the Arctic habitat of the bowhead whale. These whales can live from 60 to 120 years of age and the population grows at a rate of 7% per year, so it doubles approximately every 10 years. Pygmy Right Whales (Cetotheriidae)