Fin Whale

 

Another whale we have been fortunate to observe in our travels is the Fin Whale. We have observed them from whale watching tours in Bar Harbour Maine, Cape Cod and the St Lawrence River Quebec.

The Fin Whale is the second-largest whale species on earth, second only to the Blue Whale. It is found throughout the world’s oceans. It gets its name from an easy-to-spot fin on its back, near its tail.

Like all large whales, fin whales were hunted by commercial whalers, which severely lowered their populations. Whalers did not target them at first, because they were fast swimmers and lived in open ocean habitats. But, as whaling methods modernized with steam-powered ships and explosive harpoons, and whalers decimated other easy-to-catch species, whaling turned to fin whales. This industry killed a huge number during the mid-1900s—nearly 725,000 in the Southern Hemisphere alone.

Fin Whales have sleek, streamlined bodies with V-shaped heads. They have a tall, hooked dorsal fin, about two-thirds of the way back on the body, that rises at a shallow angle from the back.

Fin whales have distinctive coloration—black or dark brownish-gray on the back and sides and white on the underside. Head coloring is asymmetrical—dark on the left side of the lower jaw, white on the right-side lower jaw, and the reverse on the tongue.

During the summer, Fin Whales feed on krill, small schooling fish (including herring, capelin, and sand lance), and squid by lunging into schools of prey with their mouth open, using their 50 to 100 accordion-like throat pleats to gulp large amounts of food and water. They then filter the food particles from the water, using the 260 to 480 baleen plates.

Fin whales fast in the winter while they migrate to warmer waters. Like other baleen whales, fin whales also skim the water, taking in huge volumes of water. When they close their mouths, the water is pushed out through the baleen and the prey is caught on the inside of the baleen. A fin whale eats up to 2 tons of food daily.