FINBACK WHALE

Finback Whale

Finback Whale

How does it survive? What does it need to get by? Special habitat or food sources?

Fin whale diet is varied; it is usually plank tonic crustaceans and small fish that live in shoals (herring, capelin). It hunts sometimes on the surface where it conducts maneuvers in a circle or semicircle, rolling his body on the side, and often on the right side. Indeed, it is the only cetacean and one of the few vertebrates has a color pattern of asymmetry in the head. The right side, the lower jaw, the mouth, tongue, throat are lighter, tending to white. Thus, the fin whale plays with the contrast and the light, or to scare their prey and group, or to better camouflage. A detailed study of the behavior of fin whale compared with other species of whales with no asymmetry was not possible to validate either of these hypotheses. This asymmetry could be an attribute of original fin, confers no advantage (Croll et al, 2002). The diet of the fin whale is variable and depends on the availability of food. It feeds mainly on plankton, small beards but also eat small fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. The main food of the fin whale is the zooplankton consumed in circumpolar areas (Reilly, 2008). It also feeds on small fish and squid. Its tapered shape makes it the fastest of the whales, with an average speed of 10 kilometers per hour at standard conditions. It often jumps, takes much of its body above water.

How does it reproduce? Frequency and number of offspring? How successful?

These species of whale are usually paired in the winter (December and January) in the northern hemisphere. The male reaches sexual maturity between 8 and 12 years and the female between 6 to 10 years. The female gives birth to a baby only after 12 months of gestation. The newborn calf has a size of 5.5 to 6 m (18 to 20 feet) long and weighs about 1.9 tons. The mother nurses the baby for a period of six to eight months (Whitlow and Hastings, 2008).

Most species of whales have only one offspring at a time; however, there are records of individuals of the species with up to 6 fetuses at once. It is rare that more than one fetus survives beyond birth, and if this happens, the mother cannot produce enough milk to more than one will survive(Leatherwood and Reeves, p. 320). Fin Whales are more gregarious than other whales and are often found in pairs (as a mother and calf) or in groups of 6 to 10 animals. Congregations from more than 100 animals can be spotted in the feeding areas (Shirihai and Jarrett, 2006).

Summary of the Finback Whale

The finback whale also known as fin whale, razorback, or common rorqual is the second largest whale species in the world. Its scientific biological name is Balaenoptera physalus. The size of the fin whale varies with their habitat. The long female whale is about 60 cm (2 feet) ...