This Passport belongs to: __________________________________
Follow these directions for a prize! •Your Passport contains questions about right whales. •Please visit the exhibits displaying the Right Whale Festival Logo to find the answers to your questions. •Write the answers down in your Passport and ask the experts you meet to sign or stamp the page on your Passport. •After you collect at least 8 stamps or signatures, return to the Passport table to receive a prize.
What do researchers use to identify individual right whales?
Anwer:
Did You Know? Callosities are raised patches of rough skin found on the head and jaw of right whales—the same places people have hair ontheir heads! For more information about North Atlantic right whale photo ID, visit the catalog website at neaq.org/rwcatalog.
Thank you Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens / Northeast Florida Field Lab
If you are approached by a right whale while boating, surfing or swimming, what should you do? Answer:
Did You Know? Federal law states it is illegal to be within 500 yards of a North Atlantic right whale, and violations can result in civil or criminal penalties with fines up to $100,000. This applies to swimmers and divers too!
Thank you NOAA Fisheries (NMFS)
Right whales were a favorite target of whalers because they floated when dead, produced a lot of oil from their blubber, and had long baleen to make things from. This is why whalers called them the _______________ whale to hunt!
Answer:
Did You Know? A right whale baleen is 8-10 feet long and is made of keratin –the same protein as your fingernails! In the past, baleen was used to make hair brushes, lamps, and many other things that are now made from plastic and metal.
Thank you Wild Amelia Nature Festival
Even though they don’t have a motor, approaching a right whale while paddling in a _______________ or on a _________________ is both illegal and unsafe.
Answer:
Did You Know? The best place to watch right whales is from the beach, a pier, or on a licensed whale watch boat. Disturbance of their natural behavior affects their ability to feed, nurse, rest and ultimately, to survive.
Thank you University of North Florida (UNF)
Right whales can grow up to ______ feet long and weigh as much as ______ pounds! That’s about as long as one and a half school buses, and as heavy as 13 African elephants put together!
Answer:
Did You Know? Adult right whales have no natural predators due to their large size, but calves can fall prey to Orcas and sometimes large sharks.
Thank you Marineland Right Whale Project
Right whales eat mostly which type of zooplankton?
Answer:
Did You Know? Right whales are skim-feeders! The bristly baleen acts like a giant strainer and filters food from the water as they swim along the surface with their mouth open.
Thank you International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
North Atlantic right whales are one of the most endangered mammal species in the world.There are only about ______ estimated alive.
Answer:
Did You Know? Did you know there are actually two other species of right whales; the North Pacific and the Southern right whales?
Thank you Sierra Club, Northeast Florida
While in the calving area there is no available ___________________ for right whales, so mothers don’t eat while they’re nursing and caring for their calf.
Answer:
Did You Know? Over the winter, right whale mothers can lose up to 35 percent of their body mass while nursing their quickly growing calf!
Thank you Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University
The coastal waters off northern Florida and Georgia are the only known ________________ area for the North Atlantic right whale.
Answer:
Did You Know? The Early Warning System (EWS) network alerts ships of a right whale sighting via email and text message within just a few minutes of the survey airplanes spotting the whale!
Thank you Defenders of Wildlife
To reduce the threat of ship strikes, vessels that are 65 feet or longer must travel at what speed through the right whale calving area?
Answer:
Did You Know? There are three National Marine Sanctuaries along the migratory route of right whales in the Atlantic Ocean: Stellwagen NMS off Cape Cod, MA, Monitor NMS off the outer Banks, NC, and Gray’s Reef NMS off Savannah, GA.
Thank you Georgia Aquarium Conservation Field Station
Scientists use ___________________ and ________________________ to create right whale “family trees” to keep track of life history details such as age, mother, or siblings, and to better understand right whale conservation needs.
Answer:
Did You Know? Right whale #1240 or “Baldy” is one of the oldest mothers in the North Atlantic right whale catalog and has 8 calves, 10 grand calves and 3 great-grand calves!
Thank you Jacksonville Reef Research Team
Right whales have black colored skin, a V-shaped________________, two paddle-shaped __________, and no __________ fin on their back.
Answer:
Did You Know? Right whales are hard to spot! By staying alert and wearing polarized sunglasses to reduce glare from the sun, boaters can decrease their risk of hitting a right whale.
Thank you Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Typically, North Atlantic right whales are found off the Florida and Georgia coasts during which season? Answer:
Did You Know? Female right whales are about 10 years old when they have their first calf and usually give birth every 3-5 years.
Thank you Georgia Sea Turtle Center
How do you report a right whale sighting in Florida?
Answer:
Did You Know? The volunteer sighting network has over 800 members that have reported whales along Florida’s east coast, from Fernandina Beach all the way south to Miami.
Thank you Marine Resources Council (MRC)
Cyamids (Sigh-Am-ids) or whale lice are small, white crustaceans that live on the ____________________ and _______________________ of right whales and can help scientists identify individuals by making their callosities more visible in photographs.
Answer:
Did You Know? Cyamids can range from white to orange in color and they do not harm the whales.
Thank you Marine Science Research Institute (Jacksonville University)