Kebnat

Bowhead and Right Whales

Balaenidae · 2 species

In Québec, the family Balaenidae (order Artiodactyla) counts 2 species of mammals. The star: North Atlantic Right Whale, the most often observed. The richest region: Bas-Saint-Laurent, with 1 species. Every species has its own page: photos, its sounds, its season, its habitat and the best places to see it near you.

Species observed by region

Where do the observations come from?

  • Mostly iNaturalist : photos taken by people all over Québec, with the species confirmed by the community.
  • Other public sources : such as eBird for birds and the provincial forest inventories, gathered by GBIF, the global biodiversity data network.
  • What we keep : confirmed observations, with an exact position (not blurred to protect a rare species), that their author allows to be reused.
  • One place counts once : several observations of the same species at the same spot (within 11 m) count as one.
  • So our numbers are lower : than iNaturalist’s total. A region without observations does not mean the species does not live there.

Data downloaded in September 2026.

  1. Bas-Saint-Laurent1
  2. Côte-Nord1
  3. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine1

Bowhead and Right Whales 2

Artiodactyla
All91Carnivora30Artiodactyla25Rodentia18Chiroptera8Eulipotyphla5Lagomorpha4Didelphimorphia1
Balaenidae
All25Delphinidae7Balaenopteridae5Cervidae4Balaenidae2Monodontidae2Bovidae1Phocoenidae1Physeteridae1Suidae1Ziphiidae1
North Atlantic Right Whale34 observations
BowheadBalaena mysticetus