The real number of right whales today is a true dilemma. It is said that there are large populations distributed all throughout the planet. However, some experts, including biologists and ecologist and conservationist associations assure that the species is still endangered:
According to Wikipedia, the southern right whale population reaches 12,000 specimens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Right_Whale).
Sea World Foundation estimates that 40,000 specimens of southern right whale were killed between 1785 and 1939, and that today there are only 1,500 specimens (http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/baleen/estimatesbw.html)
According to Argentinian biologists, approximately 1,200 southern right whales visito the Patagonian shores.
Some whale-protecting associations assert that, according to data prior to 1700, the whale population surpassed the 100,000 specimens. By the early XX century, the population barely reached 1,000 specimens. A real ecological disaster.
The jumps and splashes they manage with their fins and tail would represent a way of communicating or playing with their peers. However, there is no doubt that the spectators of these games are many times human beings, who celebrate and wait for them with our cameras and camcorders ready to capture these moments.
