Phoenix swimming with her calf in February 2007 in the Southeast calving grounds off the coasts of Georgia and Florida. Researchers track these highly endangered whales (there are only about 450 of them left) very closely and use their skin markings to confirm sightings. The New England Aquarium keeps the catalog that records the life stories of these whales. Phoenix, a model of whom greets visitors in the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, has lived an extraordinary life and apparently is still thriving. More about the right whale can be found in our Tale of a Whale featured story.