Whale
Facts

• The average length of a Humpback Whale: 35-50 feet
• Average Weight: 32 tons
• The flukes (tails) have a distinct pattern on the underside, much like our fingerprints
• The humpback whale breaches more frequently than other baleen whales
• Male humpback whales sing under the water
  The Pacific humpback's pectoral fins are white underneath & black on top.
• The Atlantic humpback's pectoral fins are white on both sides- which makes it easier for us to see them
  Humpback whales hold the record for the longest migration route among mammals: 4,000 miles one way, from summer feeding grounds to winter (southern) breeding and calving grounds (*according to one source)
• While in their breeding grounds- the whales do NOT eat!
• Some humpbacks feed in the Southern Ocean and go north to their reproductive areas!
• Can stay underwater for 30 minutes but often dives for much shorter periods of time, usually 5 to 10 minutes.
• Humpbacks emit high frequency "clicks" reaching 30,000 Hz. They also produce, in frequencies between 20 and 9,000 Hz, songs that are the longest and the most varied in all the animal kingdom, with repeated sequences about 15 minutes long.
• Life expectancy of a humpback whale is estimated to be around 40 years (1998 figure)
  When they are in cold waters, the humpback whale eats 2 tons of fish and plank tonic crustaceans a day, in 2 to 4 meals.

ORCA WHALE FACTS

• Birth weight- 395 lbs; Adult weight- 2.6-9 tons
• Nicknames: Killer whale, blackfish, grampus
• The largest of all dolphins
• There is no known case of a wild orca ever killing a human
• Orcas stay in long-term social groups, or pods, for life (group size: 3-25)
• Orcas can be reliably seen on tours around Vancouver Island, off Antarctica, Norway, and Iceland, and occasionally in many other areas
• Orcas can travel at up to 34 mph (55 km/h)
• A versatile predator and has one of the most varied diets of all cetaceans. It is known to eat anything from squid, fish, and birds to sea turtles, seals, and dolphins; it will even tackle animals as large as Blue Whales!
• Gestation period is thought to be 12-16 months, with most calves born between October and March
• Where to Look: One of the most wide-ranging mammals on earth, though distribution is patchy. Seen more often in cooler waters than in the tropics and subtropics.

GRAY WHALE FACTS

• Average Length: Male 43 ft; female 41 ft; newborn 15 ft
• Average Weight: adult 26 tons; newborn 1,500 lbs
• Nicknames: Mussel digger, hard head, devil fish, gray back
• Group size: Generally 1-3; traveling groups can contain up to 16; hundreds can gather in good feeding conditions
• Gray whales are messy eaters.
• Only whale that is known to feed often in the sand and mud ("bottom feeder")... feeding on shellfish, crabs and worms.
• Each year, gray whales (only found in the North Pacific ocean) make the 12,400 mile round trip between Mexico and Alaska
• The cruising speed during migration is about 1 to 3 miles per hour
• Eastern Pacific gray whales, nearly extinct in the late nineteenth century, are now thought to number more than 20,000 (1998 figure)
• Where to Look: Found in Arctic feeding grounds April to November, and in Mexican breeding grounds December to April. Migrates south October to February, and north February to July.
• Young gray whales are often 'friendly', coming to the side of boats and even lifting them out of the water
  Pregnant females give birth to single calves just before or soon after arriving at the breeding lagoons; beginning in late December
• Gestation period is about 13.5 months, with approximately 2 years between pregnancies
• The lifespan of a gray whale is between 30 and 40 years, but may even be up to 60 years.

BLUE WHALE FACTS

• The largest living creature on Earth!
• The record appears to be at least 110 feet long and a weight of 209 tons (It was a female)
• Average length for males is 82 ft; average length for females is 85 ft
• Average weight: between 80 and 144 tons; newborn 2.5 tons
• A newborn blue whale measures at least 19 1/2 feet long
• A blue whale drinks 50-150 gallons of milk a day, adding about 8 pounds of weight per hour, or 200 pounds a day
• At about 8 months of age, when the calf is weened, it can measure close to 50 feet long and weigh about 50,000 pounds
• At sea, blue whales usually feed alone or in pairs, often widely spaced
• A blue whale's "blow" can reach almost 30 feet high!
• During the feeding period, a blue whale can ingest 4 tons of krill a day. They feed at the beginning and the end of the night at a depth of at least 130 feet (40 m).
•  The lifespan of a blue whale is more than 80 years.
• By the 1950s, blue whales were endangered- Only an estimated 6,000 to 14,000 remain in the world's oceans (1998 figure)
•  Protected since 1967, the population currently appears to be showing signs of growth (1998 figure)

Sources:

1. Carwardine, Mark Whales Dolphins and Porpoises, DK Publishing, Inc., 1995
2.  Carwardine, Mark and Hoyt, Erich and Fordyce, R. Ewan and Gill, Peter Nature Company Guide: Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises, Time Life Books, 1998
3. Dumont, Jean-Michel and Marion, Remy On the Trail of Whales, Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1998