Aquarium of the Pacific | Aquarium Blogs | Whale Watching
Fin whales are the second largest animal in the world, only second to the blue whale. If you were to read up on the fin whale you would probably learn the longest recorded is about 89 feet, they look similar to blues, and that they rarely raise their tale out of the water while diving (fluking). Having read up on fin whales myself numerous times, when I saw a fin whale fluke I couldn’t believe my eyes! And even more amazing, I’ve seen fin whales fluke three times this year!
I’ve calculated the number of whales we’ve seen from June 1, 2009 until last week from our logs! What an incredible amount of sightings and the numbers seem to be holding strong daily!
Anyone that’s ever chatted with me about whales has probably learned that my all-time favorite animal is the orca a.k.a. killer whale. Out of everything I want to study and be around, orcas are my number one! I’ve recently gotten a report that a pod of orcas are on the way and might be in Long Beach this week!
Even though our summer has winded down, the blue whales and other wildlife haven’t seemed to notice. The blue whales won’t be here for too much longer, but they’re still showing strong. On my trip out a few days ago I saw six blue whales and bottlenose dolphins! What a trip!
“Why are the blue whales here?” is a common question I get while working on the boat. The answer I most often reply with is “They’re here because they’re feeding on krill which is a small, shrimp-like animal.” Typically the krill they eat are pretty deep, around 500 feet or so, but I always mention how on rare occasions the krill are at the surface and the blue whales will lunge feed at the surface. I’ve never seen it done … until now!
