🔍 Key Concepts

• Endangered species populations are typically very small compared to common species • Northern right whales have been heavily reduced by historical whaling and recover slowly • Think about realistic population sizes for a large whale that is critically endangered vs. abundant ocean species

💭 Think About

• Which of these numbers best fits something described as an endangered or critically endangered species rather than a common animal? • How many individuals would you expect if a species is closely monitored and every sighting is a big event for scientists? • Compare the choices: which look more like global populations of common fish or small mammals, and which look like numbers you’d hear in news reports about animals near extinction?

✅ Before You Answer

• Eliminate any options that seem far too large for a species described as endangered and closely tracked by researchers • Consider that northern right whales live only in the North Atlantic, not worldwide like some other whales—does that support a huge or a small population? • Before choosing, ask: would conservation groups be urgently alarmed if there were this many, or is the number so low that every individual matters? Focus on the scale.