Current demographics of cetacean populations

How many are there, where, and how are they changing?

Southern Resident killer whales: 73 individuals. North Atlantic right whales: 370 individuals. Vaquita: ~10 individuals. Mediterranean sperm whales: ~2,500 individuals. This database lists the key populations under close demographic monitoring.

See also

Demography reflects conservation status: IUCN status, bycatch, climate change and chemical pollution.

Estimating a cetacean population: methods and uncertainties

Demographic estimation of a cetacean population combines several methods. Line-transect sampling (Buckland) counts the groups seen from an aircraft or a vessel following predefined transects, correcting for the probability of detection. Capture-mark-recapture by photo-identification applies to resident species such as the Southern Resident killer whales (monitored by the Center for Whale Research since 1976).

The key figures to know: ~75 Southern Resident killer whales, ~384 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis, the 2024 NARWC estimate published in October 2025, of which around sixty are breeding females), fewer than 10 surviving vaquitas in the Gulf of California. The SCANS (North Sea and European waters) and SAMM (French waters, Observatoire Pelagis) programmes provide the reference European estimates.