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The Northern Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis, is, by federal status, an endangered

specie that in present day can be found in five major areas: Canada's Bay of Fundy, areas south

of Nova Scotia, and portions of the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and Massachusetts.²Why this

once-abundant mammal now has its numbers in the mere hundreds is a phenomenon that must be

studied to protect its life and the life of other endangered, and soon-to-be-endangered, wildlife.

Several sources can be explored to garner this information; the Wheelock College Library, the

Boston Public Library, the New England Aquarium, and the Internet are among some locales of

investigation. Although there are hundreds of possibilities as to why the Right Whale population

is depleting, by exploring the effects humans have on the Northern Right Whale and its

environment, we can begin to understand this depletion, and look at possible ways to correct this

situation in hope that the Northern Right Whale can be removed from the endangered species

list.

It has only been since 1935 that laws have protected the Northern Right Whales. National

laws and international treaties have been made to try to protect their future. If laws were not

made to protect these animals, they may not have even lasted until today. It is now known that

the European population of this specie of whales has become non-existent and that there are only

about 350 left on the Eastern coast of the United States.³Although this population has been

protected for about 60 years, it seems to have been remaining the same even up until now. It was

hoped that the precautions and safety measures put into place for the whales would allow the

2 _{http://www.valleyweb.com/whalewatch/.} 3 _{http://www.valleyweb.com/whalewatch/.}