Slow Down for Whales

Humpback whales are the most common whale seen in New Jersey’s waters. The Atlantic Ocean humpback whale population has been increasing in recent years and they were federally delisted as Endangered in 2016. More humpback whales have been observed overwintering in our nearshore waters, likely due to factors related to climate change, increased food abundance, and improved water quality.  

But all whales face certain challenges along New Jersey’s coast. Those challenges include the potential for vessel strikes, stranding and gear entanglement. NJ Fish & Wildlife, in cooperation with NOAA and its stranding response partners, strives to respond to all whale stranding and mortality events. Completing a necropsy (animal autopsy) is a priority for each stranding to help determine the cause of death. 

If you come across a stranded marine mammal in New Jersey, remain a safe and legal distance from the animal and immediately contact the NOAA Fisheries 24-hour Stranding Hotline at (866) 755-6622 to report its location.

NOAA Fisheries administers vessel speed reduction zones which include both mandatory (Seasonal Management Areas) and voluntary (Slow Zones) speed reduction areas for vessels to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales that result from collisions with vessels. In addition to protecting North Atlantic right whales, Slow Zones provide added protection to all large whales and marine mammals.  

In the Seasonal Management Areas, all vessels 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots to reduce the threat of vessel collisions. Voluntary Slow Zones are triggered when 3 or more right whales are recorded in an area. In these areas, all vessels are encouraged to travel less than 10 knots. 

All boaters from Maine to Virginia, or interested parties, can sign up for email or text notifications about the latest Right Whale Slow Zones. 

Ship Strikes Probably Accounts for Some East Coast Whale Deaths

The Wildlife Society quotes The New York Times in a post about the 23 whales that have washed up on the coast of the eastern United States since December.

North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), considered endangered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) also endangered, and even a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) have been found on beaches from New York state to Virginia. 

Most of the dead whales have been humpbacks, with ship strikes likely being the cause of most of the deaths. Changing shipping routes and methods in the sea due to a shifting consumer market related to the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the increased death rate.

Dead Whales Continue to Appear Off the NJ and NY Coasts

 

Dead humpback whale offshore
Photo: Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute.

A sixth dead whale in the past 33 days was found on the New York-New Jersey coastline this month. There have been 6 deaths since December.

The cause has not been determined but several environmental groups point to offshore wind turbines. The growing renewable energy alternative has been criticized for its impact on whales and other wildlife during and after construction. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are currently studying this sudden increase in humpback whale deaths but reports that it has been an issue since 2016 across the East Coast. In many cases, it was occurring long before any wind turbines were built. 

Partial or full necropsy examinations were conducted on approximately half of the whales reported to NOAA. Of the whales examined, about 40 percent had evidence of human interaction, either ship strike or entanglement.

Besides vessel strikes, it is known that noise - from ships, construction planning, and survey work - threatens whales who can be scared by noise and hit an obstruction. Infant whales can become distressed by noise and stop nursing.

Unlike strandings or situations where live whales appear to beach themselves, these whales (humpback and right whales) appeared dead offshore.

2016–2023 Humpback Whale Unusual Mortality Event Along the Atlantic Coast - NOAA

6 dead whales wash up in a month.- NJ.com

North Atlantic Right whales are one of the world’s most endangered large whale species, with only about 450 animals remaining. NOAA has developed regulations for boaters and fishermen to help protect these whales from injury or death from vessel collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

Humpback Whales Are Regular Visitors to NJ and NY Waters

According to a study co-authored by Rutgers University, Gotham Whale, the Center for Coastal Studies, and 21 other organizations in the western North Atlantic, humpback whales spotted along the Jersey Shore and the waters off New York often stay for an extended period of time and return year after year.

New Jersey added humpbacks to their endangered species list in 1973. Although their numbers have rebounded better than some other whale species, they have not returned to their pre-whaling level. Despite the ban on hunting, humpbacks still face a number of threats, all of which are caused by humans.

Researchers found that 58% of whales spotted in the coastal area between Long Island and the New Jersey coast were seen more than once, either within the same year or between years. The average length of stay was 37.6 days. This suggests that humpback whales exhibit extended occupancy in specifically the area extending east to Fire Island, New York and south to Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey, and including the New York-New Jersey harbor estuary. 31% were likely to return from one year to the next.

Why they stay is not known for certain but it may be related to the consistent availability of a prey species called Atlantic menhaden. These commercially fished species have been increasing in abundance in the past decade.

Information on humpback whales in NJ

Humpback whale is seen in the Hudson River
(Photo: Danielle Brown, Rutgers University/Gotham Whale)

Increase in Whales Off NJ May Not Be A Good Thing

A Rutgers researcher says climate change and cleaner waters are causing a "Dramatic Increase in Whales in NJ/NYC but this is also raising safety concerns.

The number of humpback whale sightings in New York City and northern New Jersey has increased by 500% raising the risk of dangerous interactions between the huge marine mammals and humans.

Cleaner waters off our coast is one reason and that is certainly a good thing. But the warming of the ocean due to climate change is not a good thing.

The increase in sightings near one of the world’s busiest ports is a safety concern for both whales and humans, especially with a new wave of migration headed close to shores this fall, said Danielle Brown, a doctoral student in ecology and evolution in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biology Sciences and the lead humpback whale researcher and naturalist for Gotham Whale, a New York-based nonprofit that studies and advocates for whales. Many of the sightings have occurred less than two miles from the shore. Brown said there’s a growing risk of dangerous interactions between the whales, the majority of which are juveniles, and humans in New York and New Jersey harbors. A whale is considered of juvenile age from the moment the calf is weaned to when it reaches sexual maturity, which can be anywhere between 6 and 13 years old.

Another attraction to our waters is a growing population of Atlantic menhaden, which are a major food source for the whales. Warmer ocean temperatures are also causing fish populations to move northward.

Humpback adults can reach 60 feet in length and weigh more than 40 tons, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Geographic Society. They are found in every ocean in the world near coastlines, feeding on krill, plankton, and small fish.

Size of a humpback in relation to a human

Typically they will migrate annually from summer feeding grounds near the poles to warmer winter breeding waters. Humpback whale migration begins in the fall,

The increase in whale sightings has also created an unlikely new business venture. Many fishing boats have started whale watching cruises along New Jersey and New York City harbors. While an economic boost to many fishermen, it also raises concerns about boats getting too close.

Fishermen should take extra precautions to protect themselves and the whales. “If you’re on a boat, try to move parallel to them and never cut them off from the direction they are moving, and never chase them,” she said. “The National Marine Fisheries Service recommends a distance of at least 100 feet, and only one boat should be that close at a time, so as not to crowd the whale. If the whales appear to be feeding, give them extra space. Humpback whales are becoming more consistent in our waters, so boaters need to prepare themselves for encountering them more often. If the guidelines are followed, we can all co-exist safely.”

Whales and New Jersey: Humpback Whales

Whaling in North America was reported as early as A.D. 890. The principal attraction of whaling was the whale's subcutaneous blubber, which yielded oil ideal for lamp oil which was the dominant form of lighting. Much later, it was used in the production of margarine.

The baleen and, in the case of the sperm whale, whale teeth, were also of value. Whalebones were used in the manufacture of glue, gelatin and manure. Besides being eaten by humans, the meat has also been used in dog food and, when dried and crushed, as cattle feed.

Humpback whales may be the best known of all the whales and are easily recognized. These whales, which reach lengths of 16.2 m (53 ft.), have broad, rapidly tapering bodies that are primarily black. Their bellies are sometimes white, and in the North Atlantic the flippers are usually white both ventrally and dorsally (or top
and bottom).

Breaching humpback

Their baleen plates are black, with black or olive-black bristles. Both the top of their heads and lower jaws are dotted with randomly placed fleshy knobs. The lower jaw also has a rounded projection on its tip.

The long flippers are the most distinctive feature of this whale, since at one-third the body length they exceed those of any other species, and they have scalloped leading edges.

The pattern on the underside of the tail varies from all white to all black each pattern is individually distinctive, allowing researchers to identify and track individual whales.

Humpbacks are well known for their songs. We have discovered that these songs can travel across an ocean, and that male humpback compositions are improvised together, from one year to the next.  Check out this PBS Nature video clip to see and hear them - "Songs of the Humpbacks."

Humpback in singing position along with a calf

Whale, North Atlantic right**	Eubalaena glacialis**
Whale, blue**	Balaenoptera musculus**
Whale, fin**	Balaenoptera physalus**
Whale, humpback**	Megaptera novaeangliae**
Whale, sei**	Balaenoptera borealis**
Whale,sperm**	Physeter macrocephalus**
**Federally Endangered

SOURCE  njfishandwildlife.com/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/whales.pdf

Why All These Whales Are Around NJ

A humpback fluke- the tail of each humpback whale is visibly unique.

There have been a number of humpback whale sightings off New York and New Jersey the past month. Humpbacks weigh from 25 to 40 tons, and can grow to 60 feet in length and they are impressive as they feed and breach.

Humpbacks are baleen whales, meaning they don't have teeth but instead filter small fish, plankton and tiny crustaceans out of the water. They spend the spring, summer and fall building up their blubber, which nourishes them during the winter breeding season when they don't feed.

In early September, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced its decision to remove most humpback whale populations from its endangered species list. Once depleted by commercial whaling, humpbacks had been on the list since 1970.

There are 14 distinct global populations of humpbacks and those along the East Coast breed in the Caribbean and migrate north for feeding. Currently the most  endangered populations include those that breed off Central America and migrate up the coasts of California and Oregon.

Though no longer listed as endangered, those on our coast are still protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the International Whaling Commission's 1982 moratorium on whale hunting.

There are stronger populations now, but why so many sightings lately? Simple answer: food.

Commercial catch limits have been placed on menhaden, also known as bunker, an oily fish that's a major food source for humpbacks. New rules and quotas put in place in by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2012 cut by 20 percent the amount of bunker that could be harvested by commercial fishing operations.

Menhaden by Brian.gratwicke - wikipedia.org   CC BY 2.5, Link

Whales migrate along the New Jersey coast late summer through late fall and are feeding heavily on the improved menhaden numbers.

Menhaden/bunker are a slow swimming species that has been called "The Most Important Fish in the Sea." They feed on phytoplankton and are a food source for whales and also bluefish and striped bass and osprey and bald eagles. Bunker are also turned into pet food, lobster bait, aquaculture food and fish oil supplements.

Humpbacks are by far the most frequently sighted whales along New Jersey's coast. We also occasionally spot some of the smaller populations of finback, minke and North Atlantic right whales as they migrate through our waters.

---

MORE about humpback whales:  www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whale.html

MORE about whales in our area: Gotham Whale  and Cape May Whale Watch

Humpback Whales Off NJ and NYC

An example of humpback whales lunge feeding - via Wikimedia

Humpback whales were spotted this month in both the Hudson River off New York City and also in Raritan Bay between Sandy Hook and Perth Amboy.

Both whales were lunge feeding which is when they lunge forward from the water taking in thousands of gallons of water and fish. It appeared that these whales had found a good supply of menhaden, a small forager fish that is known to fishermen as bunker..

These whales have found sufficient food to make a stop here worthwhile.

A humpback was also spotted off Belmar, NJ this month and reportedly damaged a boat that was too near. Those who come across the whale are urged to keep their distance.

Typically, these whales should be getting ready to head south for the winter.

It is a good sign that they are being seen here more frequently as it indicates cleaner water and more abundant fish. But the busy NY/NJ waterways are not really the safest areas for feeding due to waterway traffic.

Most whales are passing the coastline but will enter a bay when they find bait fish, however, we don't want them entering rivers like the Raritan or the Arthur Kill.

The behavior of these whales has been normal, so it doesn't seem that they are in any distress.

Unfortunately, about 80 miles from Manhattan, another humpback whale was stranded for a week in Moriches Bay (off the southern coast of Long Island). After being stuck in a sand bar in four feet of water for two days, it was euthanized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Stranding Network,

Whale Beached in NJ Died Due to Human Interaction

Beached whale in NJ - Photo via nj.com

A humpback whale that washed ashore in Sea Isle City, New Jersey in early September died because of human interaction, officials say. The beached young whale was 33 feet long and weighed some 20 tons.

Officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said it may have been caught in a fishing line which caused injuries that left it unable to feed. A necropsy revealed that the whale was emaciated.

Only a few weeks before the whale was found, the news on humpback whales was that many populations were being removed from the endangered species list.

But whales still are endangered - listed or not - by human interactions, especially entanglement in fishing gear, weaponized sonar use, and ship collisions. Conservationists will continue to work to minimize these interactions.

Breaching humpback whale

The www.csmonitor.com wrote about the NJ stranding and reminds us that humans have hunted whales for some 5,000 years, but in the second half of the 20th century, whales became a popular species to "save."

"Save the Whales" led to the Marine Animal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act and commercial whaling moratoriums emerged.

What about currently? This year, NOAA Marine Fisheries Service designated an additional 39,414 square miles of ocean as critical habitat for the endangered right whale. Last year, the US Navy agreed to reduce its use of mid-frequency sonar along the coasts of California and Hawaii.

As far as I'm concerned, taking a species off the "endangered" list moves it to the "threatened" list. Pay attention, people.

Humpbacks at the Jersey Shore

A group of humpback whales feeding on small fish

Humpback whales have been spotted feeding off the Jersey coast this month. Though we don't know a lot about their time off our coast, it is thought that humpbacks may only be using New Jersey waters as a migratory pathway between their summer feeding grounds in the north and their winter breeding grounds in the south. Feeding has been regularly documented in New Jersey waters and individuals have been observed close to the shoreline, including within Delaware Bay.

Recently, a paddle boarder off Stone Harbor spotted the whales from the beach and paddled
out for a closer look and shot some video.

During the summer, humpback whales spend most of their time feeding and building-up fat in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. These fat stores are crucial since after their long migration to winter breeding and calving grounds, located in warmer subtropical or tropical waters, there will be no feeding for the entire winter.

Humpback whales have one of the longest migrations of any animal. They have been known to travel up to 5,160 miles between summer feeding grounds and winter breeding grounds. Humpbacks have been known to travel 3,000 miles in as few as 36 days.

In 1966, the International Whaling Commission prohibited commercial whaling of humpbacks due to the decline of the species. It was listed by the federal government as endangered in 1970 and, as a result of that federal status, was automatically added to the New Jersey endangered species list following enactment of the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act in 1973.

Humpbacks are provided with additional protection with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Marine mammals should not be approached closer than 50 yards. Despite the ban on hunting, humpback whales face a number of human threats, including entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, harassment by whale watchers and habitat impact.


http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/view/Megaptera%20novaeangliae/

Whale Migration at the Jersey Shore

Humpback whales feeding.       http://www.flickr.com/photos/mistermoss/ / CC BY 2.0

Whales do pass New Jersey on their migrations and during fall beach walkers and boaters get some great views.

Recent reports include a humpback just a few hundred feet from the Bay Head shoreline and off Chadwick beach. Humpbacks are adding bulk for winter which they spend in Silver Bank Sanctuary, a shallow water area off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

Southern waters are where they mate, birth and nurse their calves.

We will see them again when they follow the food north in April.

Pods of the baitfish, menhaden, and striped bass and bluefish often coincide with the fall migration of marine mammals, so whales and bottlenose dolphins and seals are more common at the shore.

Bob Schoelkopf, founder and director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine said the humpback whales are the primary whale species that have been spotted by numerous boaters because they come closest to the shore, using it to pin the bait up so they can eat it.

Boaters are always warned to stay clear of whales and dolphins. At 80,000 pounds, a humpback can do real damage to boats. They can eat upwards to 3,000 pounds a fish per day.

The warning is also a legal one because humpbacks are an endangered species that are safeguarded by the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act while they pass through our waters. Boats must stay at least 200 feet from them.

You won't see them near shore, but boaters may spot right whales and minke whales further out and they move south to waters off Georgia and Florida. Right whales are the most endangered whale species in the world.

Do any whales remain of the NJ coast through winter? Yes, the mackerel-loving and endangered fin whales. Next to blue whales, they are the second-largest whales growing up to 80 feet.

The only visitors to Jersey that will see on shore are the one fur-bearing species that comes south to visit for the holidays. That is the harbor seal. They are spotted onshore sunning, maybe on a dredge pipe on the Manasquan River or resting on the beach at Seaside Heights.

More at app.com/story/sports/outdoors/fishing/hook-line-and-sinker/2015/11/11/humpback-whales-jersey-shore/

Whales Off the NJ Coast This Month May Be Threatened By Research

RIGHT WHALE Eubalaena glacialis with calf. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Recent whale sightings off Deal and Lavalette are a reminder that whales are in the middle of their annual migration north past our beaches. Seeing a humpback breaching the surface and landing with thunderous splashes is still rare enough to be news, but the whales are out there.

In what may seem surprising, some environmental groups have opposed a recent "climate change" study by Rutgers University because of whales and other marine mammals.

Environmentalists have joined Governor Chris Christie in opposing research funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and conducted by Rutgers University and the University of Texas. They planned to to send ear-shattering sound blasts to the ocean floor off the New Jersey shore to create three-dimensional images of sediment lying thousands of feet beneath the seabed. This will supposedly help determine how the coastline has advanced and retreated during times of historic climate change.

But many environmental groups and some commercial and recreational fishing interests argue that the study would harm dolphins, whales, and other marine life by subjecting them to sounds blasts of 250 decibels or more every five seconds for 34 days.

Cassandra Ornell, a staff scientist for Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of more than 125 groups, conceded that opposing a federally funded climate change study “is kind of unusual for us.”

Whales are more plentiful off the Jersey coast now because of the annual spring migration from their southern winter grounds to their northern summer grounds.

Sightings have been of the dramatic humpback whale. They are feeding on small schooling fishes, such as menhaden (aka bunker). We also have right whales, minke whales and fin whales passing by our coast, though those species tend to stay further offshore.

The research is also of concern because humpbacks are traveling with calves.

 Size compared to an average human - via Wikimedia Commons.

Fishermen can encounter whales while fishing on top of schools of bunker for striped bass. This occurred this summer off Asbury Park when fisherman met up with a fin whale.

The right whale, in particular, is considered highly endangered and boaters are supposed to keep a distance of 100+ feet from all whales and 500 yards from right whales.

The seriously endangered right whale (whose name came from whalers who said it was the "right" whale to hunt) are estimated at only 300 living mainly off the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. The right whale was friendly, slow swimming, floated when killed, and yielded lots of oil and baleen and whalers killed thousands of them. The population in the North Atlantic is the most endangered in the world.

Federally Endangered Whales That Migrate Past NJ
Whale, North Atlantic right**	Eubalaena glacialis**
Whale, blue**	Balaenoptera musculus**
Whale, fin**	Balaenoptera physalus**
Whale, humpback**	Megaptera novaeangliae**
Whale, sei**	Balaenoptera borealis**

Alaska requests Endangered Species Act delisting for humpback whales

The state of Alaska has requested delisting (removing) humpback whales from the Endangered Species Act, according to a story from the Alaska Dispatch.


Excerpt

Humpback whales, once nearly wiped out in the North Pacific by commercial hunters, are now plentiful enigh in the Alaska-to-Hawaii migration corridor that they should be removed from the Endangered Species Act list, says the state of Alaska in a petition to federal officials.

he North Pacific humpback population was down to about 1,000 in 1966, the year that commercial whaling stopped. Now the population is 21,800, even more than the estimated 15,000 that swam the North Pacific about a century ago, before the peak of the commercial hunt, Fish and Game officials said.

Commercial whaling was the big threat to humpback whales, and now the population has reaped the benefits from the hunt's end, said Doug Vincent-Lang, director of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation.

“Since whaling was restricted or regulated, it has rebounded well,” he said.

If old threats from commercial whaling are gone, some new threats to humpbacks have emerged and should be considered by NOAA in its delisting deliberations, one environmental group has argued.

The Center for Biological Diversity, in comments sent to NOAA in October, said new threats have emerged in the form of ocean acidification -- which could affect the krill and other crustaceans that make up the whales’ diet -- and climate change. There are also new threats from ambient noise in the ocean, which can drown out the calls the whales use to communicate with each other, as well as continuing problems of pollution, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, the center said.

A wintering right whale and its calf off Florida.  Photo:  NOAA via wildnewjersey.tv

The six species of whale which occur off New Jerssy's coast are listed on both the state and federal endangered species lists.

Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus
Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus
Sei whale, Balaenoptera physalusborealis
Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
North Atlantic northern right whale (or Black right whale) Eubalaena glacialis

They are managed by the International Whaling Commission. In 1966, the International Whaling Commission prohibited commercial whaling of humpbacks due to the decline of the species. It was listed by the federal government as endangered in 1970 and, as a result of that federal status, was automatically added to the New Jersey endangered species list following enactment of the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act in 1973. Humpbacks are provided with additional protection with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

MORE INFO ON WHALES & NJ
http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/view/Megaptera%20novaeangliae/
http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/whales.pdf 

Humpback Whale Washes Onto Monmouth Beach

As thrilling as it is to spot a whale breaching on one of those whale-watching cruises, it is even more exciting to see one off the NJ coast.

So, it is quite the reverse to see a dead a dead humpback washed up on one of our beaches.

That is what happened last week when a juvenile humpback washed up dead onto Monmouth Beach.

Photos via Atlantic Highland Herald

Because the whale hit the rock sea wall before ending up on the beach, it was difficult for scientists to clearly determine the cause of death.

This can also be a teachable moment. The shocking sight of the dead whale with its stomach literally inside out coming out its mouth, indicates that it was likely to have been hit by a ship in the stomach. The major threats to many whales are entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. In our NJ waters, tanker ships are quite common.

A child examining the detached baleen from this whale will hopefully be told something about baleen whales.

Perhaps, the incident will create a conversation about how a reduction of speed by large ships entering areas where whales are present reduces strikes because it allows whales to move away after hearing the ship's engines.

Whales that was up dead on NJ beaches are generally cut in pieces and the remains are buried somewhere on the beach, according to officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. It appears that this whale was dead for a week before it washed ashore.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center has worked since 1978 to help not only stranded whales, but dolphins, seals and sea turtles that have washed ashore along the Jersey Shore.

For more coverage and photos: www.ahherald.com

Endangered Whales Off The NJ Coast

There are nine mammals protected as endangered in NJ, and six of those are whales.

All six are also Federally Endangered, and so they are protected by Federal laws while off the coast of New Jersey.

Those 6 whale species are:

1. North Atlantic northern right whale (or Black right whale), balaena glacialis
2. Blue Whale, balaenoptera musculus
3. Fin Whale, balaenoptera physalus
4. Humpback Whale, megaptera novaeangliae
5. Sei Whale, balaenoptera borealis
6. Sperm whale, physeter macrocephalus

Cetaceans is the order that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. It is then divided into two suborders: Odontoceti and Mysticeti.

Odonoceti have teeth and a single blowhole (nostril) at the top of the head. The sperm whale is well known, if only from pictures and movies, for being one that regularly produces a visible spout or blow.

(Photo of right whale skim feeding via The Whale Center of New England)

The Mysticetes are the baleen whales. The other 5 listed here are baleen whales. That means they have no teeth and filter their food through their baleen. They also have two blowholes.

Baleen is made of the same material as our fingernails and hair, and has been described to the touch as similar to thick plastic hair. The baleen plates overlap each other and hang from the upper jaw of the whale. (They are sometimes compared to vertical blinds.) Each plate is frayed on the bottom and edges so that they mat together and help trap food. Right whales have the longest baleen.

My childhood fascination with whales has never faded, so I will write more about each species here in the months to come. I also admit to listing Melville's Moby Dick in my five books list despite its portrayal of whale hunting.