Media Gallery: Photos Newest

  • A crew works on creating a life-size, meticulously detailed model of the North Atlantic right whale Phoenix

    Crew Works on Phoenix Model
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    A crew works on creating a life-size, meticulously detailed model of the North Atlantic right whale Phoenix—the “ambassador” of the Smithsonian’s Sant Ocean Hall in the National Museum of Natural...
  • Master carver Douglas Chilton rides in the Raven Spirit canoe at its ceremonial launch.

    The Tlingit Raven Spirit Canoe and Carver, Douglas Chilton
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    Master carver Douglas Chilton rides at the prow of his creation—the Raven Spirit canoe—at its ceremonial launch in Washington, D.C. The canoe is now on display in the Smithsonian’s Sant Ocean Hall.
  • Researchers have identified five areas of high North Atlantic right whale concentration between Canada and Florida.

    Finding Phoenix
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    Researchers have identified five areas of high North Atlantic right whale concentration between Canada and Florida. More about the right whale can be found in our Tale of a Whale featured story.
  • North Atlantic right whales and ocean-going vessels often cross paths.

    Ship and North Atlantic Right Whale
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    North Atlantic right whales and ocean-going vessels often cross paths.
  • A view of the injured fluke belonging to Phoenix’s mother, Stumpy. It is not known what caused this injury. It possibly could have been an entanglement.

    Stumpy’s Tail
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    A view of the injured fluke belonging to Phoenix’s mother, Stumpy. It is not known what caused this injury. It possibly could have been an entanglement. More about whales can be found in our Tale of...
  • Phoenix rises out of the waters east of Cape Cod, MA, in April 2003.

    Can Right Whales Recover?
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    Phoenix rises out of the waters east of Cape Cod, MA, in April 2003. The rough patches of skin (known as callosities) occur in unique patterns on all North Atlantic right whales and help researchers...
  • Workers prepare to hoist the model of Phoenix, a North Atlantic Right Whale, into position above the exhibit hall floor in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

    Preparing to Hoist the Right Whale Model
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    Workers prepare to hoist the model of Phoenix, a model of an actual North Atlantic right whale, into position above the exhibit hall floor in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in...
  • Phoenix’s entanglement badly injured her right lip, leaving a distinctive scar from that ordeal.

    Beware of Fishing Gear
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    There were fewer than 450 North Atlantic right whales in 2006. Yet it has been illegal to hunt them since 1935. Why haven’t populations increased? Traits that made right whales easy to hunt make them...
  • A white scar on Phoenix’s lip (at right) was caused by her entanglement with a fishing line.

    Lip Scar Caused By Fishing Gear
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    A white scar on Phoenix’s lip (at right) was caused by her entanglement with a fishing line. Learn more about the life of Phoenix, an actual North Atlantic right whale, in the Tale of a whale photo...
  • An early scale model of North Atlantic right whale Phoenix that was used to develop a life size model for the Smithsonian shows the location of scars on her mouth from entanglements with fishing gear.

    Phoenix: Mouth Scarring
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    An early scale model of North Atlantic right whale Phoenix that was used to develop a life size model for the Smithsonian shows the location of scars on her mouth from entanglements with fishing gear...
  • This illustration shows how fishing lines attached to traps and buoys on the ocean floor present a potentially deadly hazard to North Atlantic right whales.

    How Whales Become Entangled
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    This illustration shows how fishing lines attached to traps and buoys on the ocean floor present a potentially deadly hazard to North Atlantic right whales.
  • The rough patches of skin known as callosities occur in unique patterns on all North Atlantic right whales and help researchers identify and track individual whales. This whale is named Phoenix.

    Close Up of Phoenix’s Callosities
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    The rough patches of skin known as callosities occur in unique patterns on all North Atlantic right whales and help researchers identify and track individual whales. This whale is named Phoenix. More...