The southern right whale scientific name means true whale and southern. The name right whale is derived from the right whale to hunt as it is so slow and easily caught. It is considered a separate species from the northern right whale but they are very similar in form. In comparison to the northern right whale they are in abundance and the population appears to be on the increase. Compared to other species of whale they are quite social mammals and have been spotted in groups of up to 100 in feeding grounds.

The southern right whale is similar to the northern right whale and has a very broad tail and flippers, is large and rotund, with an arched mouth line. It is dark grey or black in colour and also has white patches on its underside. It has callosities around the areas that you would expect a human to have hair around their head, although between these two right whale the pattern that the callosities make is slightly different. The head of the southern right whale can measure up to a third of its body.

The maximum length of the southern right whale is approximately 17m or 56ft and similarly to the northern right whale the female of the species is about 1-2m or 3-6ft longer than the male. The weight of a fully grown whale can be anything up to 80 tons.

The only main difference with the feeding habits of the southern right whale to the northern one is that the southern whales eat more krill in the Antarctic waters. They have around 230 plates of baleen on each side of their mouth and ca consume 2-3 tons of food each day.

The southern right whale reaches sexual maturity between 6-12 years of age. The gestation period for a calf is one year and when the calf is born it measures approximately 4-5m or 15-16ft and will stay with its mother for one year. The female will produce a calf once every three or four years and will normally give birth in the austral winter.

First grade oil from the blubber which is edible was used for the manufacturing of margarine, and also in the production of soft soap. Oil was also extracted from meat and bones after they were pressure cooked. Meat extract was also produced from the meat and was very edible similar to branded meat extract drinks. The liver was also processed to produce liver oil for medicinal purposes. The meat residue from the pressure cookers was rendered down to make cattle feed and fertilizers. The baleen plates from the mouth which in the olden days were used for stays for ladies corsets but in modern whaling the baleen plates were discarded.