Bryde's Whale

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Balaenoptera edeni | Offshore Karwar, Karnataka

Sighted my first whales a few days ago during an offshore trip on a fishing boat. Here's one of the images. What is visible here is the snout of a calf rising above the surface, with the mother's vast back behind it. The mother's blowhole (nostril) is also visible to the left.

Bryde's whales are large filter-feeding baleen whales, similar to the better known Blue and Humpback whales. They grow to roughly 40-50 feet in length, with females reaching the greater limits. I could not estimate the exact size of this one. The diet here is not accurately known, but is most likely to include small shoaling fish.
The key identifying feature is 3 longitudinal ridges on the head, partly visible here. The pattern of surfacing and diving sequences can also be used as an ID cue.

As in most parts of the country, whales are considered sacred by fishermen here. One of the local kannada names, "devara meenu", means 'God fish' and corresponds to equivalent names in other languages. The older generations even make offerings to the sea in the form of coconuts, flowers etc. when a whale is seen.

Nikon D3100, Nikkor 70-300 mm ED VR
SS 1/1000
Av 8
ISO 400
Minor crop

Thanks, C&C welcome.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice to see this Abhishek and an informative write up on the species is always a pleasure to read along with the image.

TFS
Roopak

[Mrudul Godbole]

Lovely sighting. Thanks for sharing the detailed info. Hope you get to sight more such amazing species.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Rare and nice. Emotional bond between the mother and the baby nicely exhibited ........intertwined with the magical word called 'touch'. Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild