It appears that blue whales have been mating with fin whales far more frequently than previously thought. One of the things that is both exciting and alarming, is that it...
Fin Whale
The fin whale which is also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is the second longest species of whale, with the largest species growing to a reported 27m, and weighing a maximum recorded weight of 74 tonnes, and a maximum estimated weight of 114 tonnes.
It is a fast swimmer, able to outpace the fastest steamships.
There are 2 recognized subspecies, in the northern and southern hemisphere. Around 725,000 southern fin whales were taken during whaling, and there are around 38,000 that roam the oceans as of 1997. Across the world around 112,000 roam the oceans.
Although the genetic differences between the fin whale and the blue whale are considered similar to that of humans and gorillas (they are thought to have been split for 3.5 million years) and hybrids have been recorded from time to time.
Average dives are around 6 minutes, with the longest dives recorded being around 17 minutes.
Found around the world, though not found close to the polar ice caps at either end of the globe. They appear to be clearly migratory, but it has not been possible to fully work out what this migration pattern might be.
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Gathering of 1000 fin whales seen off the Antarctic peninsular
- Tim
- January 19, 2022
Fin whales were driven near to extinction in these waters a century ago, yet they have returned. A huge gathering of 1000 whales is not a regular site.
North Atlantic right whale population appears to be stabilizing!
- Tim
- December 19, 2023
The population of the north Atlantic right whales appears to have stabilized at around 350, having fallen from a peak of 483 in just 2010. In 2022 there were 356,...
Orca have been documented killing and eating blue whales
- Tim
- February 28, 2022
Orca are generally regarded as the apex predator in the sea. There are obviously others that are good contenders, such as the great white shark - but when orca are...
Previously unknown group of blue whales found
- Tim
- March 21, 2021
Given how large they are, you would have thought that we would know about all populations of the blue whale, but it would appear not.
A new population has been...
News in Brief – Beluga whale spotted in the Thames, Japanese knotweed invasion and Praying Mantises
- Tim
- October 4, 2018
Beluga whale spotted in the Thames
A Beluga whale, a species usually found in the arctic region, has been spotted in the Thames estuary a few miles from London. As...Iceland to end commercial whaling in 2024 as demand for the meat has disappeared
- Tim
- May 31, 2022
For most of us, whaling is distasteful. What has become clear is that whales are essentially swimming trees in terms of their positive impact on carbon emissions.
It is therefore...
Animals moving away from extinction
- Tim
- February 7, 2019
The mountain gorilla and the fin whale have been reassessed and their conservation status had been found to not accurately show their position.
In the case of mountain gorillas, this...
Spent the day, writing our pages for Langurs, but there is wildlife even in the most wilderness starved countries
- Tim
- September 20, 2024
There is a significant number of different species of Langur. I hope in the future, to be able to see many of these species for myself in the wild, for...
Back to normal: moving forwards
- Tim
- June 11, 2024
For those who come to this site regularly, you may well have noticed a break in out blog contents - we have been concentrating on other parts of the website....
Environmental and political stories from the US in recent times
- Tim
- March 9, 2024
On this post, I will list a group of articles on North American politics and stories. It is unfortunately a fact, that, no matter what your position is on American...
Electric cars roundup: recent news
- Tim
- February 23, 2024
For a variety of reasons, over the last few months, I have not written as often as I would like. As such, I have accumulated quite a few articles that...
Another report stresses the importance of rewilding for climate change, and reintroductions
- Tim
- April 21, 2023
A report has calculated that the reintroduction of 9 species would do so much benefit to the ecosystems that they are found in, that these reintroductions would help us to...
Review: extinction: the facts
- Tim
- September 30, 2020
In recent years the BBC has stopped trying to cover over the threat to the natural world in their world famous documentaries. This once as you can see, deals with...
Where have South Africa’s great white sharks disappeared to?
- Tim
- July 15, 2020
South Africa is home to a large number of wonderful wildlife. One of the things that was most well known for its great white sharks. Big draw as being the...
Dumped fishing gear here is the biggest plastic problem in the oceans
- Tim
- December 16, 2019
It is certainly true that large amounts of plastic works it way down are rivers and out to sea, and it is important that we remove these pollutants before they...
Most dolphins are right handed- or perhaps right flippered
- Tim
- December 15, 2019
As with humans, great Apes and bears amongst others it has been found the dolphins will usually prefer to use one flipper rather than the other.
It...