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Press, 12 August 1980, Page 3

This 22m Southern Right whale, a comparatively rare visitor to the New Zealand coast, drew a crowd . of spectators as it cavorted round rocks at Taylors Mistake yesterday. The mammal, which appeared to be scraping barnacles from itself, was still performing

spectacular manoeuvres at nightfall. Southern Right whales have for many years been on. the list of severely endangered species, according to a spokesman for the Canterbury Museum. They were hunted ruthlessly until the turn of the century, gain-

ing their unusual name because whalers regarded them, after the sperm whale, as literally the “right” whale to harpoon because of their high oil yield and because they tended not to sink after having been killed. Southern Right whales make a long migration northwards

from the southern ocean at the end of the Antarctic summer, according to the museum spokesman. “Only five or six are seen in New Zealand waters a year,” he said, “This one probably just called in to Taylors Mistake for a rest.” .