Right whales were hunted when they came inshore to bear and suckle their young. Often the baby whales were also killed. As a result there was no long-term replenishment of the herds. This photograph from Kaikōura about 1910 shows whalers stripping the blubber from a baby whale. The men behind it are standing on a full-grown whale.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
1/2-022935; F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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