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FINBACK WHALE |
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SCIENTIFIC
NAME
- Balaenoptera from the latin balaena (derived from the
greek phalaina)
"whale" and from the greek pteron "fin";
physalus from the greek physalos
"blow"; so "blowing whale with fin".
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FAMILY
- Balaenoptaridae
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| DIMENSIONS
- The female is larger of the male,
maximum lenght 24 mt (27 mt in the
austral hemisphere), weight between 45 and 75 tons.
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| ASPECT
- Very hydrodynamic body, streamlined in central position and posteriorly compressed
in the zone of the caudal peduncle; head cuneiform and flattened over;
airhole in rear position; high dorsal fin until 60 cm; powerful tail; small pectoral fins.
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| SKIN
and COLORATION - Smooth, grey
with white shadings on the back (typical the one's with a V shape),
skillful side of the jaw white, white abdomen. |
| LONGEVITY
- Until 90 years (probably the most long-lived between all cetaceans). |
| REPRODUCTION
- After the conceiving that happens in winter to the
low latitudes in warm waters, the fin whale in summer migrates in
cold waters in order to make food supply in order then to return to
give birth 11-12 months after in warm waters. After the birth the puppy measure approximately 6 mt and hung approximately 2 t; a quintal
of lait every day will allow it to catch up the 12 mt and the 13 tons in 6
months with a rhythm of increase of 60 kg the day. |
| FANONS
- Medium
355, triangular, long to maximum 90 cm and wide 30, of yellowish
color, with frange in number between 10 to 35.
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| BREATH
- Vertical,
conical shape, high until to 6 mt, but with calm of wind can also not
be visible. |
| SOUNDS
- The vocalizations are nearly all with a not
audible from the man lowest frequency, the impulses sounds with
higher frequency are used in order to communicate with near
individuals, those with lower frequency are audible to greater
distances, in the season of the loves the sounds are organized in
complex sequence from the duration of many hours with courtship
function. |
| FEEDING
- Varied Diet composed by krill, fish
and cefalopods in different percentages to second of the seas in which
feeds. In the Mediterranean fish such as sardine and blue fish but
above all Eufausiacei (in particular norvegica Meganyctiphaens). The
fin whale has never been observed putting into effect technical
of concentration of the preys; throws itself in the
schoal of fish or krill with the enormous opened wide mouth. Every
individual can consume beyond 300 t of food every year (Vd. Feeding). |
| HABITAT
- Pelagic Cetacean, accustomed living in opened sea,
in the Mediterranean preprefers zones with depths advanced to -2000 mt
and distant 30 Km from the coast, sometimes for movement reasons
it is approached the coast or it crosses channels. |
| SWIM
- They are perhaps the faster cetaceans being able to catch up the speed of 37 Km/h (20 nodes)
even if normally they swim to approximately
7 Km/h (4 nodes), but can mantain constant speed covering
enormous distances (until approximately 300 Km in a day). The swim
sees the alternation of two phases of swim in surface and immersion;
the first phase to approximately 2 mt of depth with emersions (in
number around the 6) for breathing, during which the body of
the whale emerges before with the head, then with the back until the
dorsal fin; the second phase of immersion of the duration of
approximately 10 min whose beginning is distinguishable thanks to the
emersion of the caudal peduncle. The tail does not emerge nearly
never. |
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| JUMPS
- Rare but spectacular with emersion of nearly all the body. |
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MIGRATIONS
- The Fin whale is surely a cetacean able of long migrations, in
winter it os in moderated waters and tropical where it is withheld and
reproduce while in summer migrates towards cold zones such as the
subpolar this migratory cycle is not rigid like
demonstrates the case of the Mediterranean and in particular of the
Ligurian sea.
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SOCIALITY
- Also not being rare to observe groups
of finners of 5 or 6 individuals, it is necessary to signal that they are rather solitary animals and little inclined to
long-lasting social relations, the only true tie is what alloy the
mother with the puppy, it moreover finishes with the weaning around
to the 6 months of life. Probably animals of such size with imposing
alimentary requirements difficultly can share the same zones of
hunting; moreover the ability to communicate also to long distances
renders superskillful the concept of shoal, meant like agglomerated
of individuals in the same place.
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TEMPERAMENT
- Timid,
difficultly approachable if not when it's feeding.
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DANGER
and PREDATORY
- Rare attacks from part of killer whales, the true danger
above all in the Mediterranean is represented from the collisions with
ships, its dimensions in fact do not allow them to get out of the impact.
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SPECIES
DIFFUSION
- Object of a pitiless
hunting from the end of the 800 (previously the whale-man did not
succeed reaching them) that has reduced the world-wide
population from 550.000 exemplary to current 130.000, is
disseminated mostly in the seas of the south (beyond 100.000), in the
northern Pacific (approximately 20.000) and in the northern Atlantic
(few hundreds), in the Mediterranean above all in the area of the
Sanctuary (approximately 3.000), is discussed if it's a stable
population or if lathes in the Atlantic, probably exist exemplary that
cross Gibilterra and other permanent.
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