Balaenoptera edeni
Bryde's whale

Bryde's whale is found throughout the world, primarily in warm temperate and sub-tropical waters.

Populations exist mainly in warmer waters (~20 degrees Celcius). More research needs to be done on this topic.

Bryde's whales are dark gray in color with a yellowish white underside. They are the second smallest rorqual with an average length of 12 meters, although the female is usually about 1 foot longer than the male. Bryde's whales have two blowholes located on the top of the head. Bryde's whale is often confused with the Sei whale; however, the Bryde's whale has three parallel ridges in the area between the blowholes and the tip of the head. The flippers are small compared to body size. The prominent dorsal fin is sickle shaped. Instead of teeth, these whales have two rows of baleen plates. These plates are located on the top jaw and number approximately 300 on each side. Each baleen plate is short and wide, 50cm x 19cm.

Bryde's whales are seldom seen in large groups but will congregate around dense populations of food. They are deep divers. The lobes of either side of the tail (flukes) are seldom shown. Swimming speed ranges between 4 - 16 knots. Some tropical populations are possibly sedentary with short distance migrations. More research needs to be done on the behavior of Bryde's whales.

Bryde's whales feed almost exclusively on pelagic fish (pilchard, mackerel, herring, and anchovies) and pelagic crustaceans (shrimp,crabs, and lobsters). They also have been observed to eat cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish).

Some populations were seriously depleted as a result of whaling practices. Bryde's whales are not on the Endangered species list. As a result of the 1986 Moratorium on Whaling, they are protected worldwide.