Wednesday, September 24, 2008

What about whales???

Sei and Bryde's whale look very much alike with only a few differences. Both species are slim and streamlined, since they are slim and have little blubber they are not often hunted. The only major difference is that the sei whale has one ridge from the tip of the snout to the blowholes, while the bryde's whale has three. Both the sei and bryde's whale have a bluish-gray body with white on the underside. The side fin are very short and pointed at the tips. Sei and bryde's are both baleen whales. Weight at birth in both species is 2000 pounds. Gestation period last about 11 1/2 -12 months and calves nurse for about 6 months. Both species are usually found in small groups of 2 or 3 but neither goes into the polar ice regions. Sei whales are found near the antarctic while bryde's are found in tropical waters. Both are fast swimmers moving up to 34.5mph.

Orca whales color are a black and white and has a saddal patch behind the dorsal fin. They are apart of the dolphin family and migrate in all oceans according to availability for food. They can weigh 8-9 tons and calves weigh up to 400 pounds. They feed on sealions, small whales, sharks and fish. Mothers are very protective of their young and can have calves every two years. Orcas usually come in pods travelling from hemisphere to hemisphere.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good post! You've given a lot of information on these whale varieties, including some not presented in class, so good job doing some independent research. Does the orca hunt either of the other two species? 9/10