New research published in Science Advances reveals that right whales can live for more than 130 years—almost twice as long as previously thought.
This discovery adds right whales to the list of exceptionally long-lived animals, alongside their close relatives, the bowhead whales.
Bowhead whales, known for their extreme lifespans, can live over 200 years.
Scientists working with Indigenous subsistence hunters in Alaska found chemical evidence of their longevity. Hunters have even recovered 19th-century harpoon tips from bowheads taken in modern times, further confirming their long lives.
Right whales share many similarities with bowheads, including their diet and seasonal migrations. Like bowheads, right whales use baleen to filter feed and migrate to specific areas to give birth.
They were historically considered the “right” whales to hunt because their thick blubber made them float after being killed.
The study analyzed four decades of data from photo identification programs, which tracked individual whales.
Researchers focused on two species: the Southern right whale, found in the southern oceans, and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, which lives along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Using this data, scientists created survivorship curves—graphs that estimate how long individuals in a population typically live. The findings revealed that Southern right whales, once thought to live only 70 to 80 years, can exceed 130 years, with some possibly reaching 150 years.
In contrast, the North Atlantic right whale has an average lifespan of just 22 years. Very few individuals in this species live beyond 50.
According to Greg Breed, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, human activity is the main reason for the shorter lifespans of North Atlantic right whales.
“These whales often get tangled in fishing gear, struck by ships, or face starvation due to environmental changes we don’t fully understand,” Breed explained. “This isn’t because of biological differences—they should live much longer.”
The study highlights how long recovery could take for right whale populations. “To have healthy populations with older animals, recovery might take hundreds of years,” said Breed. Right whales give birth to a surviving calf only once every 10 years, making population growth slow.
Breed also emphasized the importance of older whales for passing down survival skills to younger generations. “It’s not just about the number of whales. Older whales pass along cultural and behavioral knowledge, helping the young survive,” he said.
The team plans to study other whale species to see if their lifespans have also been underestimated and learn more about how whaling affected older individuals in whale populations.
Source: University of Alaska Fairbanks.
