在新湾潜水的南露脊鲸，阿根廷瓦尔德斯半岛 Southern right whale diving in the Golfo Nuevo near the Valdes Peninsula, Argentina (© Gabriel Rojo/Minden Pictures)

在新湾潜水的南露脊鲸，阿根廷瓦尔德斯半岛 Southern right whale diving in the Golfo Nuevo near the Valdes Peninsula, Argentina (© Gabriel Rojo/Minden Pictures)

南冰洋里的巨鲸 Giants of the Southern Ocean

Southern right whale

The end of September in the Southern Hemisphere means warming weather and the nearing of summer. For southern right whales like this one off the coast of Argentina, this means a transit southward toward Antarctica and rich feeding grounds. Southern right whales are a subspecies of right whale that inhabit the oceans below the equator. They feed on krill at the surface of the water, holding their mouths open as they swim through clouds of the tiny crustaceans.

Right whales got their names because they were the 'right' whale to hunt, desirable to whalers because they were relatively slow and floated when they died. Right whales are easily identifiable by the thick white calluses on their heads. They tend to be social and curious creatures and have been known to have close encounters with humans. They spend winters in warmer waters closer to the equator. The whale featured today surfaced off the Valdes Peninsula, home to the largest breeding population in the world, and a fitting location for the Southern Whale Natural Monument, created in 1984. In these protected waters, thousands of whales will mate and give birth, staying until October or November, when they will begin their great migration south.

南露脊鲸

南半球的9月底意味着气候变暖和夏季临近。对于阿根廷海岸外的这种南露脊鲸来说，这意味着向南迁移到南极洲和丰富的觅食地。南方露脊鲸是露脊鲸的一个亚种，栖息在赤道以下的海洋中。它们以水面上的磷虾为食，在穿过微小甲壳动物云层时张大嘴巴。

露脊鲸之所以得名，是因为它们是捕鲸的“正确”鲸鱼，捕鲸者之所以喜欢露脊鲸，是因为露脊鲸的速度相对较慢，死后会浮在水面上。露脊鲸头上厚厚的白色胼胝很容易辨认出来。它们往往是社会性和好奇的动物，并且已知与人类有密切接触。它们在靠近赤道的温暖水域过冬。今天，这头鲸鱼在巴尔德斯半岛浮出水面，这里是世界上最大的繁殖种群所在地，也是1984年建立的南方鲸鱼自然纪念碑的合适地点。在这些受保护的水域中，数千头鲸鱼将交配并产子，一直呆到10月或11月，届时它们将开始大规模向南迁徙。