The whale historically called the “right” whale to hunt is the right whale. Whalers considered these animals ideal targets because they were slow-moving, often stayed near shore, and usually floated after being killed, making them easier to retrieve.
The name refers to three living species in the genus Eubalaena: the North Atlantic right whale, North Pacific right whale, and southern right whale. They are baleen whales and feed mainly by filtering tiny crustaceans from seawater.
Right whales were hunted commercially for centuries, beginning with Basque whalers in the Bay of Biscay as early as the 11th century. Their blubber produced large amounts of oil, while their baleen was also valuable. The intensive hunt pushed several populations close to extinction, and international protection began in 1937.
A common mix-up is confusing right whales with bowhead whales, which belong to the same family but are a separate group. Today, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are major threats, especially for the critically endangered North Atlantic population.