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All three species are [[Animal migration|migratory]], moving seasonally to feed or give birth. The warm equatorial waters form a barrier that isolates the northern and southern species from one another although the southern species, at least, has been known to cross the [[equator]]. In the Northern Hemisphere, right whales tend to avoid open waters and stay close to [[peninsula]]s and bays and on [[continental shelf|continental shelves]], as these areas offer greater shelter and an abundance of their preferred foods. In the Southern Hemisphere, right whales feed far offshore in summer, but a large portion of the population occur in near-shore waters in winter. Right whales feed mainly on [[copepods]] but also consume [[krill]] and [[pteropod]]s. They may forage the surface, underwater or even the ocean bottom. During courtship, males gather into large groups to compete for a single female, suggesting that [[sperm competition]] is an important factor in mating behavior. [[Gestation]] tends to last a year, and calves are weaned at eight months old.
Right whales were a preferred target for [[whaling|whalers]] because of their docile nature, their slow surface-skimming feeding behaviors, their tendency to stay close to the coast, and their high [[blubber]] content (which makes them float when they are killed, and which produced high yields of [[whale oil]]). Although the whales no longer face pressure from commercial whaling,
==Naming==
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