These endangered whales can live up to 150 years — twice as long as previously thought

Endangered southern right whales can live twice as long as scientists thought, a new study shows. These whales often reach 130 years old, and may even reach up to 150 years old, the study found.

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are found throughout the Southern Hemisphere but were heavily hunted until the 1960s, when the International Whaling Commission began to ban commercial whaling. People in the whaling industries considered them the “right” kind of whales to hunt because they move slowly, float when dead and have a high yield of lucrative oil and whalebones.

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