Order: Cetacea.

Family: Balaenopteridae.

Size: Length- 40 to 60 ft (12-18 m).

Weight: 16 to 18 tonnes.

Key Features: Body is slim and streamlined. Head narrow and slightly arched, with a single prominent ridge extending from the blowholes to the tip of the snout. Few hairs are present on both the jaws and the snout. This species have 30 to 60 throat grooves all ending well before the navel. Flippers and tail flukes are small; dorsal fin is 25 to 60 cm tall, hooked and place slightly less than two-thirds along the back. Back and sides are dark grey with light coloured scars giving its body a metallic look with its belly pale below (a region is greyish white). There are 300 to 410 ash-black baleen plates with fine white silky fringes.

Voice: Short and evenly spaced pulses at higher frequency.

Breeding: Single calf is born every 2 to 3 yrs after gestation period of 11 to 13 months. Weaned at 6 to 9 months; sexually mature at 6 to 12yrs. May live 50 to 70 yrs.

Diet: Small fish, plankton and squid.

Habitat: Found in the open ocean, usually near the surface.

Habits: When at the water's surface, Sei whales can be sighted by a columnar or bushy blow that is about 10-13 feet (3-4 m) in height. The dorsal fin usually appears at the same time as the blowhole, when the animal surfaces to breathe. This species usually does not arch its back or raise its flukes when diving.

Conservation Status: Species listed as ‘Endangered’ on IUCN red list.

Distribution in Gujarat: Sei Whales have not been seen stranding in last couple of decades and there has been only one reporting which dates back to 14th August 1988 when a 9.76 m female was found dead in a creek at Kalubhas Island, between Salaya and Sikka ports of Gulf of Kachchh.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

• Sathasivam, K. (2004). Marine Mammals of India. Universities Press (India) private limited. Hyderabad. Pp: 40

• Marine Mammals Facts Courtesy: Animal Fact Files- Mammals. The Brown Reference Group Plc.