Scientific Name : Eschrichtius robustus Length: meters Weight: tonnes. The grey or grey back whale is the only extant species of genus Eschrichtius. As the name suggests, grey whales are dark grey in color and have numerous white spots all over their body. The grey whales feature a slightly lifted midline known as the dorsal ridge instead of the dorsal fin. Their population is located in two pockets of the world; eastern North Pacific and western North Pacific.
In , a grey whale traveled across the Pacific ocean, covering a record-setting distance of more than 22, km. Scientific Name : Cephalorhynchus hectori Length: 1. Not only are they the smallest, but also one of the rarest dolphins on Earth. They are overall pale grey in appearance. As the name suggests, pygmy killer whales are a much smaller version of the killer whales, also known as Orcas.
They are known to feed on small fish and even common dolphins. Apart from physical characteristics and a few behavioral traits, not much is known about this species. Their range extends from about 35 degrees north to 35 degrees south.
A large population of Pygmy killer whales inhabits in the Pacific between the coast of Japan and Hawaii. Scientific Name : Globicephala macrorhynchus Length: 5.
The short-finned pilot whale is one of the two whale species of the genus Globicephala the other being the long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas. As the name suggests, both species are distinguished by the length of their flippers. Short-finned pilot whales also have relatively smaller jaws and feature numerous white spots or scars all over the body. Scientific Name : Orcinus orca Length: meters Weight: 6 tonnes.
Killer whales, also known as orcas, are at the very top of the marine food chain. They are known to hunt other predatory species such as tiger sharks, great white sharks, and feisty leopard seals. They also prey on larger whales, including the sperm whale and grey whale.
The killer whale is a highly social marine animal bound by complex social structures. Individuals live in a matriline society in which they spend their entire life with their mothers. A false killer whale pod Image Courtesy: Juan Ortega. Scientific Name : Pseudorca crassidens Length: 6 meters Weight: 2, kg. The false killer whale got its name because of its skull, which is identical to that of killer whales. They are well known for their erratic behavior.
There are reported instances of false killer whales approaching and offering fish to human divers. But on the other hand, they are also known to take fish off the nets and hooks forcefully. False killer whales are highly sociable animals, often found traveling in large numbers.
In a few cases, they are seen accompanying dolphins even from other species mostly bottlenose. However, false killer whales are highly aggressive against most dolphin species. Beluga whale in Atalanta Aquarium Wikimedia Commons. Scientific Name : Delphinapterus leucas Length: 5. The beluga whale is a large and distinctive whale species. It is the only living species of the genus Delphinapterus. Minke whales are quite common and seen on most trips. Minke whales may, in fact, be the most abundant whale species in our area, but their small er size, fast speed, and usually shy nature make them difficult to spot especially on rough weather days when they tend to disappear in the troughs between waves.
All of these are exceedingly rare and so it is not likely to encounter them on a whale watch out of Gloucester. However, all have been seen on more than one occasion and so it is always possible. One of the great things about whale watching is that is a nature trip in the truest sense. The area we visit is not a zoo or an aquarium where animals are in cages or pens and trained to perform on command. They feed on dogfish, cod, and other species, diving down to great depths mostly at night for their feedings.
The North Atlantic right whale is endangered and very rare to see, with only about remaining in the wild. They are a stocky, mostly black whale growing up to 60 feet long and featuring rough white patches on their heads. If these rare whales are spotted, your whale watch crew will likely keep a greater distance to help continue to protect these endangered creatures. Even from a distance, however, a sighting of one of these beauties is a memorable, stunning experience.
Types of Whales. Baleen whales are generally huge; the largest is the biggest creature to have ever lived on Earth- the blue whale. Huge volumes of seawater are strained through the baleen plates which sieve and retain little sea creatures in huge quantities. Right whales and bowheads are skimmers or grazers and gather food by swimming slowly, open-mouthed through dense patches of it. Humpbacks , blue whales and fin whales are gulpers; their throats are expandable and enable them to take enormous mouthfuls of seawater and sieve out their prey; gray whales are bottom feeders and sift prey from mouthfuls of mud on the seabed.
Most baleen whales are migratory and tend to follow the same basic migratory pattern. Some, such as humpbacks and gray whales make very long, seasonal migrations. Our understanding of why they do this is that they face a dilemma; there is much more whale food available in cold polar oceans but these environments are risky and challenging for vulnerable newborn whales who thrive in warmer seas. The baleen whale solution to this is to feed in cold water feeding areas for as long as possible in the summer months and then swim to warm, calm water nursery areas.
Not all baleen whales migrate; Bryde's whale , the bowhead whale and sei whale are all non-migratory. Baleen whales do not echolocate but they do make sounds to communicate with one another, display and attract mates, repel rivals and establish territories. Different baleen whales use a variety of sounds including singing, moans and short pulses. Baleen whale group sizes are generally small; they often appear to be alone but are found to be in acoustic contact with others. Large groups of baleen whales are generally uncommon.
Baleen whales are grouped into four families: rorqual; right; gray; and pygmy right whale. However, the exact number of species currently 15 and their relationships to one another are still matters of hot debate as scientists are finding what they believe to be new species within species. This is thought to refer to the long folds of skin in the lower jaw. The right whale and bowhead whale family is made up of three right whale species and the bowhead whale.
They are enormous, rotund, stocky whales who can grow up to 20m and weigh 90 tonnes 90,kg. They have huge heads measuring up to a third of the total length and their backs are smooth with no dorsal fin or ridge.
Right whales and bowhead whales are slow swimmers; they skim feed or graze using their impressively long baleen plates to filter food from seawater. These whales were intensively hunted during the commercial whaling years and are struggling to recover; in fact both the North Atlantic right whale and the North Pacific right whale are endangered and continue to decline in numbers. Subsistence whaling of bowhead whales is still practised by Alaskan and Greenlandic aboriginal subsistence whalers.
The gray whale family only has one member — the gray whale.
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