Fin Whale
Balaenoptera physalus
Also known as: Finback Whale, Common Rorqual, Finback, Finner, Herring Whale
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
70000.0 kg
About This Species
The second-largest animal on Earth, this whale favours deep offshore and continental-shelf waters worldwide, where it lunges through dense patches of krill or small schooling fish, often visible as a tall, narrow blow reaching several metres. It can be seen from whale-watching vessels in known feeding grounds such as the Gulf of St Lawrence, the Ligurian Sea, and parts of the California coast, with sightings concentrated during summer feeding season when prey is abundant near the surface. Its long, fast surface runs and relatively small dorsal fin set well back help distinguish it from other large whales.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- This species is IUCN-listed as Vulnerable, so approach should be especially cautious: most whale-watching regions set minimum legal distances for vessels (commonly on the order of 100 metres or more, though the exact figure and enforcing law varies by country), and boats should approach slowly from the side, never head-on or from behind, and disengage if a whale shows signs of avoidance.
- Commercial whaling of this species is banned under the International Whaling Commission moratorium, though a small number of countries maintain objections or scientific-permit hunts, so protections are not uniform everywhere in its range.
- Always follow the operator's or local marine authority's specific approach rules rather than a general rule of thumb.
Seasonal Activity
216,823 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Cetacea
- Family
- Balaenopteridae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 70000.0 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.