Right whales inhabit the temperate and sub-polar waters of the Atlantic. The whale is commonly seen in the Bay of Fundy, the Western Scotian Shelf and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but is also found off the coasts of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The right whale has a huge head that takes up nearly a quarter of the length of its stocky, black body. In front of the whale's blowholes, are crusty white, orange, yellowish and pink lumps called callosities. The largest of these lumps is called the bonnet. Each whale has a very distinctive callosity pattern that enables scientists to recognize individual whales easily. Right whales live at least 75 years. Right whales, which can grow up to 18 metres in length, have narrow tails, large flippers and no dorsal fin. Females are generally larger than males. The whales' skin is black and occasionally mottled, with white patches on throat and belly.