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Atlantic
White Sided Dolphin
Scientific Name:
Lagenorhychus Acustratis
Status: Abundant
| Not Protected
Birth Size and Weight:
Newborn
calves measure in at about 3 to 4 feet in length and weigh as much as 60-70lbs.
Adult Size and Weight:
Adults
measure in at about 7-9 feet in length and weigh as much as 400-600lbs.
Physical Appearance:
Body is black and gray with a white and yellow stripe along each side of
it's body.
Diet: Feeds on small
schooling fish (mackeral, sand lance, herring, etc.) and squid.
Reproduction: Sexual
maturity is reached at around 8-10 years of age. Breeding takes place in
the summer and newborn calves are born in June or July of the following
year after a gestation period of about 10 to 11 months. There is an interval
of about 2 to 3 years betweens calves.
Region and Migration:
Found
in the colder oceans all year round with no set migration patterns.
Interesting Facts About
North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins:
Travel in pods which can number
anywhere from a few individuals to several hundred!
Calves are referred to as little
footballs because they're so tiny!
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from my some of my North Atlantic White Sided Dolphin Sightings!
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Blue
Whale
Scientific Name:
Balaenoptera musculus
Status: Endangered
and Protected
Birth Size and Weight:
Calves measure between 20-30 feet and can weigh up to 3 tons.
Adult Size and Weight:
Adults
can measure well over 100 feet in length and weigh more than 100 tons.
Physical Appearance:
The
body is long and streamlined and bluish-gray in color with spots all over.
Diet: Blue Whales
consume up to 3-4 tons of krill (shrimp like creatures) daily!
Reproduction: It
is believed that sexual maturity is reached at about 10 years of age. The
gestation period for a Blue Whale is about 12 months and there is an interval
of about 2 to 3 years in between births. A calf will stay with it's mothers
for up to 9 months.
Region and Migration:
Blue
Whales can be found in any of the oceans, however during the winter months
they travel to the warmer waters in order to breed and have their calves.
Interesting Facts About
Blue Whales:
The Blue whale is the largest
mammal (possibly the largest creature) to have ever roamed the planet!
A Blue Whale's heart is the
size of a small car!
Nursing calves will gain approximately
200lbs and will grow up to 1.5 inches daily!
The largest Blue Whale ever
measured was a 108 foot adult female.
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from my one and only Blue Whale sighting!
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Fin
Whale
Scientific Name: Balaenoptera
Physalus
Status: Endangered
and Protected
Birth Size and Weight:
Calves can measure in at 15-20 feet at birth and can weigh as much as 2
tons.
Adult Size and Weight:
Adults can grow up to 90 feet in length and they can weigh as much as 75
tons.
Physical Appearance:
The
Fin Whale's body is long and streamlined. It's gray to black in color and
each Fin Whale has a unique chevron pattern on either side of it's body.
Biologists use this chevron pattern to help identify individual whales.
The right side of the bottom jaw is a white creamy color.
Diet: Fin Whales
feed on krill, plankton, and schooling fish (mackeral, herring, sand lance,
etc.)
Reproduction: Fin
Whales become sexual mature at about 10 years of age. After a 12 month
gestation period, the mother gives birth to her calf who will stay with
her for the next 7-9 months of it's life while nursing. There is a an estimated
3-4 year interval between calves.
Region and Migration:
Fin Whales are found in all of the oceans. While it's not known for sure,
it is believed that Fin Whales travel to warmer waters to breed and have
their calves.
Interesting Facts About
Fin Whales:
Because of it's speed (it can
reach speeds of 23mph), Fin Whale's are called 'the greyhound of the sea".
Fin Whale's can consume up to
2 to 3 tons of food a day!
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from some of my Fin Whale sightings!
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Humpback
Whale
Scientific
Name: Megaptera novaeangliae
Status:
Endangered
and Protected
Birth
Size and Weight: Newborns are about 10-15 feet in length and they can
weigh as much as 1 ton.
Adult
Size and Weight: Adults can grow to be up to 50 feet in length and
weigh as much as 40-45 tons.
Physical
Appearance: Humpback Whale's got their name because their dorsal fins
appear to be on a raised hump on it's back.The skin of a Humpback Whale
is dark gray or black in color. The flippers are normally mostly white
and the underside of the flukes can range from all white to all black.
Underwater the flippers appear to be a bright florescent green color. The
body itself is rather round which forces the flukes to come up out of the
water as it dives. Lifting the flukes up out of the water gives the whale
an extra push to help it get the depth it wants. On top of the whale's
head there are little bumps called tubercles. Each tubercle contains one
stiff hair, but the purpose of this hair is still unknown.
Diet:
Humpback's feed on krill, plankton, and schooling fish (mackeral, sand
lance, and herring, etc).
Reproduction:
Sexual maturity is reached at about 10 years of age. After a gestation
period of about 12 months, the mother gives birth to her calf who will
stay with her for the next year of it's life. There is normally a 2-3 year
interval between calves.
Region
and Migration: Humpback's can be found in all oceans around the world.
They spend their summers in the cooler waters where they spend their time
eating. In late fall they begin their migration to the warmer waters where
breeding and calving takes place.
Interesting
Facts About Humpback Whales:
The underside
of a Humpback's flukes is unique to each whale similar to the way a finger
print is to people. Biologists use this unique pattern to identify individual
whales. To date, I've seen the following identified Humpback Whales: Ace,
Alpaca, Apostrophe, Bungee and calf (2005), Chromosome, Cirri, Clamp, Cowpoke,
Dynamite, Evolution, Flask, Fan, Freckles, Gizmo, Hat-Trick, Hornbill,
I.T., Kansas, Karli, Mogul, Owl, P.D., Pinball, Quote, Satula, Scylla and
calf (2005), Sickle, Spinnaker, Spoon, Thimble, Tornado, Tracer, Tulip,
Victim, and Zipline.
The flukes
can grow to be up to 18 feet wide!
Male Humpback's
sing songs which can be up to 20 minutes long! It's thought this is breeding
behavior.
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from some of my Humpback Whale sightings!
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Minke
Whale
Scientific
Name: Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Status:
Abundant | Legally Hunted (Norway, Iceland, and Japan)
Birth
Size and Weight: Calves measure in at about 10 feet in length and weigh
about 1,000 pounds.
Adult
Size and Weight: Adults can grow to be about 30 feet in length and
weight as much as 10 tons.
Physical
Appearance: The top half of the body is dark gray or black while the
underside is a whity creamy color. There is a white band on each pectoral
fin known as the 'Minke mitten'.
Diet:
Minke
Whales feed on krill and small schooling fish (herring, mackeral, etc).
Reproduction:
Sexual
maturity is reached at about 8 years of age. After a gestation period of
10-12 months, the calf is born. The calf will stay with it's mother for
about 6 months before being weaned. It is thought that there's a 2 year
interval between calves.
Region
and Migration: Minke's inhabit all oceans of the world.
Interesting
Facts About Minke Whales:
When Minke
Whales surface for air, they come up snout first.
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from some of my Minke Whale sightings!
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Pilot
Whale (long-finned)
Scientific Name: Globicephala
melaena
Status: Not Endangered
| Not Protected
Birth Size and Weight:
Calves
can be as big as 6 feet in length and weigh as much as 230lbs.
Adult Size and Weight:
Males
can grow to be up to 20 feet and females grow to be about 15 feet in length.
They can weigh as much us 1.5 to 2 tons.
Physical Appearance:
The
body of the Long Finned Pilot Whale is all black with the exception of
a small white patch on the belly. The pectoral fins are elongated.
Diet: Preferred prey
is squid, but they also take in small schooling fish.
Reproduction: Sexual
maturity in females is reached at about 7-8 years of age while males reach
maturity at about 10-12 years of age. After a gestation period of about
12 months or more the calf is born. The calf will continue to nurse for
at least the first two years of it's life. There is some evidence that
nursing continues on for longer than two years. It's believed that there
is an interval of 3 to 5 years between calves.
Region and Migration:
Pilot
Whales are found in all of the world's oceans. The short finned whales
are found in the southern, warmer waters while the long finned whales are
found in the northern, colder waters.
Interesting Facts About
Pilot Whales:
They travel in very close knit
social groups which sometimes results in a mass strandings.
Once dubbed the 'pot-head' whales
because of their large heads.
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from some of my Pilot Whale sightings!
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Right
Whale
Scientific
Name: Eubalaena Glacialis
Status:
Extremely
Endangered and Protected (special whale watching guidelines are in effect)
Birth
Size and Weight: Newborn calves are about 15-20 feet in length.
Adult
Size and Weight: Adults can grow to be up to 55 feet in length and
can weigh as much as 100 tons.
Physical
Appearance: Right Whale's are black with some white or brown spots.
Diet:
Right Whale's feed on krill and plankton.
Reproduction:
The age that Right Whale's reach sexual maturity is unknown, but it is
guessed that it is around 5 years of age. After a gestation period of about
12 months, the calf is born. The calf will stay with it's mother for the
first year of it's life.
Region
and Migration: Right Whales are found in all of the world's oceans.
Interesting
Facts About Right Whales:
The Right
Whale was named because it was the right whale to hunt. It's body is rich
in blubber, they're slow swimmers, and their bodies floated after being
killed. Unfortunately, they were so over hunted that they're in great danger
of becoming exctinct.
Right
Whales do not have dorsal fins.
Right
Whales can be identified by the callosities (horny growths) on their heads.
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from my one and only Right Whale sighting!
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Sei
Whale
Scientific
Name: Balaenoptera borealis
Status:
Endangered and Protected
Birth
Size and Weight: Newborn calves are about 15 feet in length and weigh
as much as 2,000 pounds.
Adult
Size and Weight: Adults can reach up to 65 feet in length and weight
as much as 17-20 tons.
Physical
Appearance: Sei Whales are long, slim, and streamlined. They are a
grayish color with white on it's underside. The fins and flukes are relatively
small when compared to the overall size of the body.
Diet:
Sei Whales feed on plankton.
Reproduction:
Sexual
maturity in both sexes is reached at about 10 years of age. After a gestation
period of about 12 months, the calf is born. The calf will stay with it's
mother for the first 6 months of it's life until it is weaned. It is believed
that there is an interval of about 2 years between calves.
Region
and Migration: Sei Whales are found in all oceans, but they don't travel
up to the polar regions.
Interesting
Facts About Sei Whales:
Because
Sei Whales have little blubber, they weren't targeted by whalers until
most of the other species had become scarce.
Sei Whales
can reach a speed of 34.5 miles per hour!
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| A
photo from one of my Sei Whale sightings!
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