Fin Whale Facts

• A unique characteristic is the asymmetrical color of their side mandibles. The left is blue-grey while the right is white. Scientists are not sure why they have this characteristic. Fin whales swim faster than any other baleen whale, but also deeper for feeding.

• They eat a wide variety of marine animals with up to two tons per day. Baleen plates inside the mouth act as filters to allow water to flow out while trapping the remaining food near the tongue, to be swallowed. Baleen plates have the texture of stiff plastic, and were once used in ladies corsets.

• This marine fish reach puberty between 6 to 10 years. Similarly, to a few other whales, they reach sexual maturity prior to physical maturity.

• Fin whales mate during spring in warm or subtropical waters and give birth 12 months later. They are 20 feet long and weigh two tons. The calves are nursed for six months and by the sixth month they will be 30 to 40 feet long and weigh at most 15 tons.

Fun Fin Whale Trivia

They provide oil, meat and baleen, but after near extinction in the 1970’s due to excessive hunting post-WWII, an IWC ban was imposed to prevent the hunting of their fins. Their numbers increased after 1976, due to being completely protected.