Blog | Whales of Iceland

Whale of the Month - Blue Whale

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 11:40:17 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: blue whale, sulphur-bottom, Sibbald's rorqual

Icelandic name: steypireyður

Scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus

Family: Balaenopteriidae (rorquals)

Max length: 27m (males), 32.6m (females) in Antarctica, Northern Hemisphere blue whales are smaller

Distribution: All oceans, predominantly offshore

‍

Blue whales are the largest known animal to have lived on Earth. Although they were previously abundant worldwide, blue whale populations were greatly reduced during the peak of commercial whaling and they have still not fully recovered. The IUCN Red List considers blue whales to be Endangered.

Blue whales are divided into several subspecies. Antarctic blue whales are the largest of them all. It is thought that, in the past, there were more Antarctic blue whales than all the other subspecies combined – now, an estimated 3,000 remain. They are the only blue whale subspecies listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. From the beginning of the 20th Century, whaling was particularly intensive in the Southern Ocean which is why these populations were so severely depleted. Fortunately, Antarctic blue whales do now appear to be making a slow recovery.

The pygmy blue whale is the smallest subspecies. They are found in parts of the Southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Indian Ocean, where its range overlaps with the Northern Indian Ocean blue whale. A more recently identified subspecies, the Chilean blue whale, has a relatively restricted distribution and is only found in the south-eastern Pacific.

Here in Iceland, we have the northern blue whale. This subspecies is found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, with whales in the Atlantic typically reaching slightly larger body lengths than those in the Pacific.

Blue whales have a unique slate-grey colouring which makes them quite easy to distinguish from other baleen whales. The mottled patches on their back can be used for photo identification, and several catalogues have been compiled using this method in different regions around the world. They appear blue underwater, hence their common name, but sometimes look slightly yellow due to a layer of microscopic algae called diatoms that grow in cold water. This yellow tint gave the blue whale another name: sulphur-bottom. Although formerly a common moniker – in fact, Herman Melville used it in Moby Dick – this name has now fallen out of usage.

The usually grey skin of this blue whale is coloured yellow-brown by a layer of diatoms, microscopic algae. Photo by Allan Hopkins .

The blow of a blue whale is very tall – 10-12m high – and broad, which can be visible for several kilometres on clear days. They produce some of the loudest and lowest vocalisations in nature which, at around 10-20 Hz, are so low they are outside the range of human hearing. These low-frequency sounds have the potential to span whole ocean basins – blue whales can communicate with one another over vast distances!

Blue whales are migratory, but not all migration routes are well documented. The blue whales that frequent the waters around Iceland are part of a larger population that inhabits the whole north-eastern Atlantic (NEA). The photo ID catalogue for the NEA consists of nearly 600 whales. Blue whales in Iceland are known to migrate from places such as the Azores and the northwest coast of Africa, but there is still limited data on NEA migration routes. Photo ID catalogues and analysis of blue whale vocalisations suggest that the NEA and NWA blue whale populations are quite separate from one another.

Interbreeding with fin whales is not uncommon, and has been particularly well-documented in the NEA. The genetic distance between these two species is similar to that between humans and gorillas – their most recent common ancestor was about 3.5 million years ago – but despite this, hybrids of blue and fin whales are fertile and may be able to reproduce with either parent species.

Blue whales eat almost nothing but krill. Krill are tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans that aggregate in huge swarms – with thousands of individuals packed into a cubic metre, a single swarm can consist of hundreds of tonnes of krill. You may think it strange that the largest animal on earth survives entirely on a diet of such miniscule plankton, but they are able to do so because krill swarm in such densities. In fact, if all the krill on the planet were spaced out evenly throughout the oceans, whales would have to swim at 900 km/h to get enough food!

Here you can clearly see the ventral pleats on the underside of this blue whale’s mouth. Photo by Special Tours .

The ventral pleats, characteristic of all rorquals, expand when blue whales are feeding and allow them to engulf over 100 tonnes of water in a single mouthful. A recent study found that blue whales in the North Pacific probably eat between 10 and 22 tonnes of krill per day.

Like other rorquals, blue whales are lunge feeders. This is a very energetic method of feeding. Blue whales can lunge feed at the surface or sometimes at depths of 100m or more. Lunge feeding is so energetically demanding that it can seriously limit the amount of time blue whales stay underwater for; in theory, they should be able to dive for more than 30 minutes, but the average dive duration of a blue whale is between 8 and 15 minutes. Due to their energetic hunting techniques, blue whales have to carefully manage their oxygen consumption – during a dive their heart rate can drop to as low as 1 beat per minute!

‍

Learn more about...

Hybridisation between blue and fin whales in the north-eastern Atlantic

How blue whales adjust their heart rate while diving and lunge feeding

Whale of the Month - White-Beaked Dolphin

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 11:42:03 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: white-beaked dolphin

Icelandic name: hnýðingur, blettahnýðir

Scientific name: Lagenorhychus albirostris

Family: Delphiniidae (dolphins)

Max length: 3.1m

Distribution: Temperate and subpolar North Atlantic

‍

White-beaked dolphins have the most northerly distribution of almost any dolphin, and they are well built for cold temperate regions, with a robust body that can be up to 30% blubber by mass. They are dark grey in colour with lighter patches behind the dorsal fin and along the flank. This complex colouration changes gradually with age, so that calves, juveniles, and adults all have quite different colour patterns.

The most distinctive feature of this species is the light grey or white beak, and this is generally the easiest way to tell apart the white-beaked dolphin from the Atlantic white-sided dolphin. Although the white-sided dolphin is an oceanic species and not so frequently sighted in coastal waters, these two dolphins have a broadly similar range and colouration, so they can be easily confused. White-beaked dolphins prefer waters less than 200m deep and are generally found over the continental shelf.

In this photo you can clearly see the white rostrum, or beak, that gives this species its common name. Photo by Kerry Froud via HWDT.

We have only a few estimates of white-beaked dolphin population size. They probably number around one hundred thousand throughout the North Atlantic, with several tens of thousands in Icelandic waters. They are by far the most common species of dolphin in Iceland and are present here throughout the entire year. White-beaked dolphin are one of the four species of cetaceans most frequently encountered on whale watching tours from Reykjavík.

White-beaked dolphins feed on a wide range of prey – from small schooling fishes like herring to larger gadoids like cod, haddock and whiting. Their preference varies across their range, depending on the local abundance of different species. Danish white-beaked dolphins, for example, mainly feed on cod. Harbour porpoises in this region hunt cod, too, but the dolphins typically take larger fish than the porpoises which prevents the two species coming into competition over prey. As well as fish, cephalopods (squid and octopus) are important prey items for white-beaked dolphins in Scotland; here in Iceland, cephalopods do make up a small part of the dolphins’ diet but sandeel, capelin and herring appear to be the main prey species.

It is rare for white-beaked dolphins to become prey themselves, but in Iceland killer whales have been seen hunting dolphins. At present, we’re still not sure how common this behaviour is: the resident population of killer whales seem to mainly feed on herring, so white-beaked dolphins are probably not major component of their diet. Nonetheless, killer whales are enough of a potential threat that white-beaked dolphins have been observed fleeing from them in multiple locations throughout the North Atlantic.

In Iceland, white-beaked dolphin pods tend to be made up of ten animals or less, but they can be much larger – although the largest pods are generally seen in more offshore regions. Little is known about their social structure. Research carried out in Icelandic waters suggests that white-beaked dolphins have a so called ‘fission-fusion’ society, where individuals form a combination of random short-term and strong long-lasting social bonds with other dolphins. This kind of social structure is similar to what has been observed in many other dolphin populations around the world.

White-beaked dolphins are an acrobatic species and often approach boats to bow ride. They are known to form mixed-species associations with other dolphin species, particularly Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and will occasionally feed alongside larger baleen whales, too; in Iceland, white-beaked dolphins and humpback whales have been observed feeding together.

This white-beaked dolphin is showing off for a whale-watching boat. Photo by Special Tours.

From satellite tags and photo identification, it seems that white-beaked dolphins in Iceland have quite large ranges and spend a lot of their time travelling. Some dolphins have been photographed in Faxaflói, in the south west, and then resighted much further north. A tagged male dolphin travelled more than 5000km over the course of the 7 months he was tracked, suggesting that the home range of this population could comfortably encompass the whole of Iceland’s west coast as well as part of the north and south coasts.

‍

Learn more about...

How body colouration in white-beaked dolphins changes with age

Using satellite tags to track long term movements and diving behaviour of white-beaked dolphins

Whale of the Month - Cuvier's Beaked Whale

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 11:42:02 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: Cuvier’s beaked whale, goose-beaked whale

Icelandic name: gáshnallur, skugganefja

Scientific name: Ziphius cavirostris

Family: Ziphiidae (beaked whales)

Max length: 7m

Distribution: Globally, generally in offshore waters

‍

Cuvier’s beaked whale was first described in 1823 by Georges Cuvier, based on a skull collected on a beach in southern France. At the time, he believed it was the remains of an extinct species – it wasn’t until 1850 that the skull was matched to one taken from the carcass of a stranded beaked whale.

The skull of a male Cuvier's beaked whale. Image via Wikipedia Commons .

More is known about Cuvier’s beaked whale than most other species in this family. They are the most common of all beaked whales and also the most widely distributed; inhabiting deep waters in all oceans, from pole to pole, and in several semi-enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean. However, they are still a relatively difficult species to study due to their preference for deep offshore regions, so estimates of population size are limited and often come with a large margin of error. There are probably over 100,000 of them worldwide.

Some long-term research has been possible in oceanic archipelagos such as Hawai’i and the Canary Islands. Here, photo identification databases reveal relatively small but stable populations with limited movement into or out of the area. Social groups within these populations are typically small, consisting of at most 4 or 5 animals, and associations between individuals don’t seem to persist for long periods of time.

Like all beaked whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales are masters of the deep ocean. They hunt mainly for squid and can dive to incredible depths to do so. Cuvier’s beaked whales hold the record for the deepest and longest dives of any cetacean: 2,992m and 222 minutes (3h 42 minutes), respectively. Just like us, Cuvier’s beaked whales are mammals and they breathe air; this means that, incredibly, they hold their breath for the whole time they are underwater! This blog post explains in more detail how whales and dolphins can go without air for such long periods of time.

Because they spend so long at such depths, well out of the reach of human scientists, much of what we know about this species comes from tags. The tags attach with suction cups to the animal’s back – watch this video to see tag deployment in action ! They stay on for the duration of the dive before falling off, usually after a few hours, and float at the surface until they are located with GPS and retrieved. Each tag carries sensors that collect a wealth of data, such as depth, temperature, dive time, swimming speed, and position in the water. They often have microphones built in which can provide information on echolocation and acoustic communication.

Adult males have a pair of tusks that erupt from the front of their jaw. These tusks are not used for hunting or feeding; Cuvier’s beaked whales don’t need teeth to hunt because they use a specialised technique called suction feeding. They have grooves in their throat which they can expand, creating a rapid change in pressure which sucks their prey into their mouth to be swallowed whole. Males only use their tusks in combat with other males over access to females. There is little difference in body size between the two sexes, but males can be distinguished from females by the scars on their body that result from these fights.

A group of Cuvier’s beaked whales, including two scarred males. Image via NOAA .

The greatest threat to Cuvier’s beaked whales at present is the effect of noise pollution. All beaked whales seem to be particularly sensitive to noise, particularly from military sonar. Several mass stranding events have been linked to offshore naval exercises: this was first noted in the Bahamas in 2000, but has also been reported as a potential cause of mass mortality events in Greece, the Canary Islands, Italy, Madeira, and the UK. Necropsies of the beaked whales that strand during these events reveal symptoms of DCS – decompression sickness, or ‘the bends’ – a syndrome well known to human SCUBA divers. DCS occurs because nitrogen builds up in body tissues while at depth. Upon rapid ascent, the nitrogen forms bubbles in the blood. This can interfere with blood flow, affecting the spinal cord and brain in particular, and is potentially fatal.

We still don’t know exactly how naval sonar causes DCS in beaked whales. General consensus is that exposure to such high-intensity noise triggers abnormal dive behaviour, such as extended periods at depth or a very rapid return to the surface, which then leads to DCS.

Beaked whales follow their deep foraging dives with a relatively slow ascent and either a long surface interval or a series of multiple short, shallow dives. This diving behaviour is unlike that of other cetaceans and makes them especially vulnerable to DCS. Cuvier’s beaked whales dive deeper and longer than all other whales, regularly pushing their bodies to the limits. If any part of the dive sequence is interrupted it could lead to an excess of nitrogen in the body, resulting in gas bubble formation – and potentially death.

‍

Learn more about...

Photo identification of Cuvier’s beaked whales

How beaked whales get the bends

Whale of the Month - Sei Whale

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 11:42:00 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: Sei whale

Icelandic name: sandreyður

Scientific name: Balaenoptera borealis

Family: Balaenopteridae (rorquals)

Max length: 17m (males), 18.6m (females) in the Northern Hemisphere, larger in the Southern

Distribution: Globally, but most common in offshore waters and rarer in tropical and polar regions

‍

Sei whales are the third largest baleen whale, after the blue and fin whales, but much less is known about them compared to their larger relatives. They prefer offshore waters and typically travel alone or in small groups. Their range doesn’t often overlap with other baleen whales, and their migration patterns are more irregular, so their distribution can fluctuate significantly over time and is currently not well understood. Surveys suggest that there are more than 10,000 sei whales in the North Atlantic, and that they are most abundant in the waters between Iceland and Greenland.

A sei whale mother and calf. Sei whales have very tall, upright dorsal fins which can help to distinguish them from blue and fin whales while at sea. Photo from Wikipedia.

Although sei whales prefer deep, offshore waters, they aren’t deep divers. They feed mostly nearly the surface of the water and their dives typically last less than 15 minutes. Sei whales have a much wider and varied diet compared to other rorquals. They have very fine baleen which allows them to switch between different feeding strategies and prey – they can lunge feed, which is how most rorquals prefer to feed, but they are also able to skim feed like bowhead and right whales. You can watch a video of a sei whale lunge feeding on a school of small fish here. Sei whales are thought to be the fastest of all baleen whales, capable of reaching speeds up to 50 km/h in a sprint, although they cannot maintain this for very long.

Sei whales favour different prey in different regions and at different times of year. They are known to feed on small crustaceans like copepods and krill, multiple species of fish, crabs, and lobsters. In the eastern North Atlantic, copepods and krill appear to make up the majority of their diet, but sei whales in Iceland also feed on some kinds of fish.

A sei whale feeds alongside a group of white-sided dolphins. Photo from NAMMCO.

‘Sei’ is the Norwegian word for pollock, a fish similar to cod. The whales came to be known by the same name because they arrive along the Norwegian coast at the same time of year as the pollock.

The largest mass mortality of baleen whales known to science occurred in 2015 when over 360 whales, of which at least 343 were sei whales, stranded off southern coast of Chile. The deaths of these whales were attributed to a toxic algal bloom. Blooms like this are thought to be related to the El Niño event, which is an oceanographic occurrence associated with warm periods in the Southern Hemisphere. As the effects of climate change continue to increase, El Niño events are predicted to become more frequent and stronger and mass mortality events like this one may become a more common sight.

Modern commercial whaling impacted sei whale populations in the Southern Hemisphere particularly strongly. Sei whale hunting in Antarctica increased dramatically in the late 1950s and early 1960s, following the depletion of humpback, blue, and fin whale stocks. By the time commercial whaling in the Southern Hemisphere ended in 1979, over 200,000 sei whales had been killed by whalers and their population had been reduced from an estimated 100,000 to 24,000 whales.

However, since the end of commercial whaling in the late 1970s, the global population of sei whales is slowly recovering. The IUCN estimates that there are now around 50,000 sei whales across the globe and that their numbers are increasing, however this is still less than a third of their pre-whaling population size. Exploitation in the North Atlantic occurred over a longer period than in the Southern and Pacific Oceans, ending in 1989, and was less intensive, but here in the eastern North Atlantic the population has not yet recovered from early commercial whaling.

‍

‍ Learn more about...

How sei whale baleen is adapted to allow different feeding strategies

The largest recorded mass mortality of baleen whales, most of which were sei whales

Whale of the Month - Striped Dolphin

Tue, 24 May 2022 11:41:59 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: striped dolphin, streakers

Icelandic name: rákahöfrungur

Scientific name: Stenella coeruleoalba

Family: Delphiniidae (dolphins)

Max length: 2.6m (males), 2.4m (females)

Distribution: Tropical and subtropical waters globally

‍

Striped dolphins are easily distinguished from other species by the striking and distinctive colour pattern that gives them their name.

A striped dolphin breaches in the eastern tropical Pacific. Photo from NOAA.

This species is found mainly in tropical and warm-temperate regions, throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They are not a common sighting in Iceland, preferring waters further to the south around the coasts of the UK and Europe, but there are a few records of pods of striped dolphins off the south coast of Iceland as well as some strandings.

Striped dolphins are highly social. They live in units of around 10-30 individuals, but can form groups of as many as one thousand dolphins! In the western Pacific, three distinct types of social group have been identified: groups of juveniles, groups of non-breeding adults, and groups of breeding adults.

Their large group sizes and conspicuous behaviours at the surface make striped dolphins easy to spot while at sea. They are very fast swimmers, capable of maintaining travelling speeds of up to 11 km/h. In the Pacific they have earned the nickname “streakers” because they swim away from boats at top speed. Striped dolphins are also highly acrobatic , known to make leaps as high as 7 metres in the air, and perform backward flips and tail spins.

In the North Atlantic, striped dolphins feed mainly on lanternfish – a kind of deep-water fish. Lanternfish undergo diel vertical migration: this means that they move between deep water and shallow water every day. During the daylight hours, lanternfish can be found between 300-1500 metres underwater, but as the sun begins to go down they rise into shallower waters less than 100 metres below the surface. So many marine species – from tiny plankton to large fish and squid – migrate like this that diel vertical migration is the largest movement of living creatures on Earth. You can read more about this incredible phenomenon here. Striped dolphins are capable of diving down several hundred metres to reach their deep-sea prey, and their dives normally last between 5 and 10 minutes.

The striped dolphin is currently hunted for food in some parts of the world. However, they are not endangered, and with an estimated global population of over 2 million dolphins this species is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Striped dolphins are the most abundant species of cetacean in the Mediterranean, but they are considered vulnerable in this region because of the numerous threats they face and the isolated nature of the population. There is strong evidence that the Mediterranean population is genetically distinct from the population in the North Atlantic. Genetic studies have found little to no gene flow across the Strait of Gibraltar, and striped dolphins in the Mediterranean have smaller body and skull sizes compared to the dolphins in the Atlantic.

Striped dolphins will frequently form groups with other species of dolphin. In the Mediterranean, they have been observed associating with groups of common and Risso’s dolphins, and in the waters around Greece there have been several cases of hybridisation between common and striped dolphins. These hybrids appear to be fertile and are capable of producing offspring with other hybrids as well as either parent species.

A striped dolphin swims alongside a common dolphin. Photo from NOAA.

These mixed-species groups are not unique to the Mediterranean: striped dolphins readily associate with other species in the Pacific and Atlantic as well. In fact, in the tropical Atlantic, a new species called the Clymene dolphin arose as a result of extensive cross-breeding between spinner and striped dolphins.

‍

Learn more about...

Mixed-species groups of striped dolphins with common and Risso’s dolphins in the Mediterranean

Vocal communications between striped dolphins while socialising in large groups

Whale of the Month - North Atlantic Right Whale

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 11:41:57 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: North Atlantic right whale, northern right whale, black right whale

Icelandic name: sléttbakur

Scientific name: Eubalaena glacialis

Family: Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales)

Max length: 18.5m (females), 16m (males)

Distribution: coastal regions in the North Atlantic

‍

North Atlantic right whales are the most endangered of all baleen whales, and are currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. The western population ranges the length of the North American eastern seaboard, from winter calving grounds in Florida to summer grounds in Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence. It is estimated that there are now fewer than 300 individuals in this population. In the eastern Atlantic, right whales could once be found from the coastal waters of north-west Africa to Iceland, Norway, and Greenland – but now, this population is probably made up of less than 20 whales. There have been a few occasional sightings in Iceland in recent years, but the population is now so small it is not expected to recover.

This photo of a North Atlantic right whale was taken from a Special Tours whale watching boat in Iceland.

The reason North Atlantic right whales are so endangered is because they were so favoured by whalers. They were the first whale to be commercially hunted – Basque whaling in the Bay of Biscay began as early as the 11th century and nearly wiped out right whales in the Atlantic. Their large size, slow swimming speed and large oil yield (up to 40% of their bodies are blubber) made them a hugely profitable target. These whales were actually named by whalers, because they were considered the ‘right’ whale to hunt.

There are two other species of right whale: the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) and the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica). Neither of these species are critically endangered like the North Atlantic right whale, but there are only around 500 North Pacific right whales left in the world so they are considered endangered by the IUCN. Southern right whale populations have recovered well in the aftermath of heavy exploitation and are now listed as least concern – their success story gives us some hope for the future of the other right whales.

The wide difference in recovery of these three species is probably due to the differences in the impacts of human activities between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The ranges of North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales overlap with areas of very high human population – both of these species are exposed to heavy shipping traffic, fisheries, and high noise levels. The combination of all these factors is hampering their recovery. The biggest threat to North Atlantic right whales is ship strikes, as much of their critical feeding habitat lies in the middle of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Because of their critically endangered status, there is currently a huge international effort to save the North Atlantic right whale. Conservation strategies so far have included implementing speed restrictions in shipping lanes, changing the route of shipping lanes, seasonally closing some kinds of commercial fisheries, requiring weak links in fishing gear to allow whales to break free, and testing new, ropeless fishing systems. Since conservation efforts for this species began, the risk of a fatal ship strike in US waters has decreased by 80-90%. The calving season of 2021/2022 has been particularly successful, with 15 mother-calf pairs observed so far. So, things may be looking up for this majestic but vulnerable ocean giant! You can read more about what is being done to save the North Atlantic right whale here.

You can clearly see the pattern of white callosities on this mother right whale. Photo by FWC research.

All right whales are characterised by their stocky shape, arched jaw, and lack of a dorsal fin. However, their most distinguishing feature is their callosities. These are patches of tough, thick skin on the whale’s head which are colonised by parasites – mainly barnacles and whale lice. The patterns of callosities on each right whale are unique and can be used for to identify that individual from a photograph.

Many baleen whales have very tiny sensory hairs on their face: on humpback whales, these hairs are mounted on the bumps on their head called tubercles, and on right whales they grow on their chin and from craters in the callosities. It is thought that these hairs can detect changes in the density of their prey in the water, which helps the whales to feed from the densest patch.

North Atlantic right whales feed mainly on copepods, which are a kind of zooplankton. Their hunting technique is described as ‘skim feeding’: they swim with their mouths open, collecting food inside their baleen plates as they go. Right whales will skim feed both at the surface – in which case, the top of their heads can be seen above the water – or at depth while completely submerged. Check out a video of skim feeding in action!

‍

Learn more about...

The historical distribution of right whales in the eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea

How facial sensory hairs could be used while feeding

Whale of the Month - Blainville's Beaked Whale

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 11:41:56 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: Blainville’s beaked whale, dense-beaked whale

Icelandic name: króksnjáldri

Scientific name: Mesoplodon densirostris

Family: Ziphiidae (beaked whales)

Max length: 4.7m (females typically larger than males)

Distribution: tropical and temperate waters globally

‍

Blainville’s beaked whale is the most widely distributed species of its genus, the mesoplodont whales. They are found in tropical and temperate seas around the world. Although there are a few records of Blainville’s beaked whale in Iceland, it is very rare for this species to come so far north, and all of these records are of stranded whales.

As a deep diver, Blainville’s beaked whale is found mainly in the open ocean over the continental slope in waters between 200 and 1000m deep. However, they can be seen close to shore around oceanic archipelagos such as the Canary Islands, Bahamas, and Hawai’i.

This species was first described in 1817 by French zoologist Henri de Blainville from a small piece of jawbone. The bones of the beak and jaw are the densest of any animal, which is where the name ‘dense-beaked whale’ comes from. They have a very distinctive arched lower jaw which is especially pronounced in males. Like all beaked whales, females don’t have any teeth and males have just one pair: at the apex of the arch, jutting up above the top of their head. These tusks often become a home for purple stalked barnacles.

A male Blainville’s beaked whale surfaces, displaying the stalked barnacles that have attached to his left tusk. Image from Wikipedia .

Blainville’s beaked whales do not need their teeth for hunting as they are suction feeders, like other beaked whales – males only use their tusks in competitions with other males for access to females. They are able to create a pocket of low pressure in their mouth by retracting their tongue and expanding special grooves in their throats. This vacuum sucks their prey straight into their mouth, bypassing the need for teeth to grab it with.

Studying the diet of Blainville’s beaked whale is difficult since they feed deep underwater, but stomach contents from stranded whales can give us some idea of what they eat. Typical of beaked whales, it seems this species feeds mainly on deep-water squids and fishes as well as some crustaceans.

Blainville’s beaked whales have strong site fidelity and return to the same regions regularly. This has allowed some long-term photo ID studies in the archipelagos where they can be encountered close to shore. Social groups can consist of between 3 and 7 individuals, but 4 is the average group size. There are some differences in how males and females socialise. Males tend to be found alone or in small groups, whereas females and calves prefer larger groups with several adult females. These large groups may occasionally include a male, but only one.

Killer whales are one of the most significant predators of Blainville’s beaked whales. It is likely that females prefer to stay in large groups as this provides some kind of protection for their smaller calves, which would be vulnerable to attack from killer whales.

Blainville’s beaked whales stay silent up to 80% of the time – this is most likely another defense against killer whales. They communicate with one another while hunting in deep water but stop vocalising once they start their ascent. Killer whales are relatively shallow divers compared to beaked whales, so they are only at risk in the first 100-200m of water: staying silent at these depths means they can avoid being overheard by these deadly predators.

‍

Learn more about...

Extreme deep diving abilities of Blainville’s beaked whale

Silent ascents to avoid being overheard by killer whales

Whale of the Month - Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 11:41:54 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Icelandic name: leiftur

Scientific name: Lagenorhynchus acutus

Family: Delphiniidae (dolphins)

Max length: 2.7m (males), 2.5m (females)

Distribution: Offshore waters of the cold temperate North Atlantic

‍

Atlantic white-sided dolphins are possibly the most colourful species of cetacean, sporting impressive and striking patterns that make them very distinctive. Despite their unique colouration, white-sided dolphins can be easily confused with white-beaked dolphins while out at sea, as they share a very similar distribution.

An Atlantic white-sided dolphin shows off its unique, colourful patterns. Image from Wikipedia.

They are an oceanic species, and prefer deeper waters – so they are not often seen close to land. In addition to this, Atlantic white-sided dolphins are very widely ranging and can travel long distances in a short time. This makes this species particularly difficult to study, and their population size is not well known – especially in the eastern Atlantic. Currently, the best estimate for the population in the whole Atlantic ranges from 150,000 to 300,000.

Despite preferring deep, offshore regions, Atlantic white-sided dolphins are not deep divers. Their maximum recorded dive time is 4 minutes, but most last less than 1 minute. These dolphins are fairly generalist in their diet and will take a variety of prey, including herring, cod, mackerel, sand lance and squid. A study in the eastern Atlantic found that mid-water fishes and squids are probably the most important prey for white-sided dolphins here.

A social species, Atlantic white-sided dolphins live in groups. Group size seems to depend on location: in Icelandic waters, most consist of less than 10 members. These social groups don’t appear to be defined by relatedness, but what other factors could be involved in group formation are as yet unknown.

White-sided dolphins are often seen associating with other cetaceans, particularly other dolphin species as well as baleen whales such as fin or humpback whales. The dolphins may seek out baleen whales for energetic benefits, as they use the waves created by these larger species to ‘bow-ride’, making their travelling more efficient.

Alternatively, these associations may give the dolphins an easy meal: they can scavenge on fish that are brought to the surface by feeding whales.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins are known to be very active at the surface and are commonly seen breaching, tail slapping, and bow-riding. These are likely to be social behaviours rather than part of foraging, as they are most often performed in large groups.

There is ongoing discussion about the genetic relationships between the Atlantic white-sided dolphin and other species. The genus Lagenorhychus contains six species: Atlantic white-sided dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, white-beaked dolphins, dusky dolphins, Peale’s dolphins, and hourglass dolphins. But genetic studies consistently find that most of these species are more closely related to others outside the genus than they are to each other. A paper in 2019 suggested reassigning five of these six dolphins to other genera, a move which would see the Atlantic white-sided dolphin rebranded from Lagenorhynchus acutus to Leucopleurus acutus. Although it is yet to be officially adopted, change is on the horizon for the Atlantic white-sided dolphin and other members of the Lagenorhychus genus.

‍

Learn more about...

How mass strandings can tell us about the social structure of Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Revision of the Lagenorhynchus genus from studies of genetics, biogeography, and acoustics

What's in a name?

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 11:41:53 GMT

If you read our ‘Whale of the Month’ series, or almost anything about cetaceans, you might notice that most whales seem to have... a lot of names.

Whales and dolphins are found all over the world, and each species will have about as many names as countries where they are found. As well as that, a lot of cetaceans will have multiple English ‘common names’ - for example, the common minke whale may also be referred to as the northern minke whale, the lesser rorqual, or, in the Southern Hemisphere, the dwarf minke whale. And that’s not even including all the former names for this species which have slowly fallen out of use.

You can call me the common minke whale, Northern minke whale, lesser rorqual, little piked whale, pikehead, or sharp headed finner!

All these names can be very hard to keep track of! This is where the ‘scientific name’ comes in – the two words in italics that often accompany the common name. Scientific names are usually derived from Latin or Greek, although nowadays other languages can be used too. The first word of this two-part name is the genus, and the second word is the species. To explain what this means, let’s return to our friend the common minke whale. The common minke belongs to the family Balaenopteridae – these are the rorqual whales. This family also includes the blue whale, the fin whale, and the humpback whale (among others). The scientific name for the common minke whale is Balaenoptera acutorostrata, which means that this species is part of the genus Balaenoptera. Fin whales and blue whales are also in this genus, so their scientific names start the same way: Balaenoptera physalus and Balaenoptera musculus, respectively. But the humpback whale sits in a genus of its own – Megaptera.

Scientific names can tell us a little bit about species’ taxonomy – that is, how they are related to other species – but with whales and dolphins it’s a little bit complicated. Most of these species were given their genus and family a long time ago based mainly on how they look, but looks can be deceiving! Modern scientific techniques that analyse DNA can find out how closely related a species is to others, but with new genetic evidence always coming to light, the arrangement of whales and dolphins on their family tree is constantly shifting around. So the humpback whale has its own genus, but according to recent analysis this species should actually sit in the Balaenoptera genus as well.

Despite being placed in a genus of is own, humpback whales are a closer relative of blue whales than fin whales are! Image from Wikipedia .

Now you know why whales and dolphins can have so many different names, let’s delve into the meanings behind some of them!

Whale or dolphin?

You may wonder why we call the largest dolphin in the world a whale. In fact, the term ‘killer whale’ probably started out as ‘whale killer’, which was given to them by sailors who saw these apex predators working together to take down large baleen whales. Nowadays, killer whales are commonly referred to as orca, from their scientific name Orcinus orca, and these two terms are used almost interchangeably.

And if you think their common name is sinister, wait until you hear what their scientific name means! ‘Orcinus’ is Latin and translates to ‘belonging to Orcus’; Orcus was a Roman god of the underworld, so this genus name is yet another reference to the legendary hunting prowess of the killer whale. Scary stuff!

‍

Named by whalers

Whalers are responsible for the common names of quite a few whales. There are three species of right whales: the southern right whale, the North Atlantic right whale, and the North Pacific right whale. These species are very big and very slow, with such thick blubber that they float when they’re killed and provide a large oil yield. Unfortunately, this made them hugely profitable targets of commercial whaling – they were considered the ‘right’ whale to hunt.

There are a few different theories about where minke whales got their name from. One story tells of a Norwegian whaler called Meincke who thought he saw a blue whale, but it was actually just a minke whale. Perhaps he was met with mockery after mistaking the smallest of the rorquals with the largest animal on Earth?

‍

You are what you eat

Sei whales are the third largest baleen whales and a member of the rorqual family. Their name comes from the Norwegian word for pollock, because the whales arrive off the Norwegian coast at the same time of year as the fish.

It’s Greek to me

The scientific name for humpback whales is Megaptera novaeangliae. ‘Megaptera’ is derived from Greek and means ‘giant wings’, while ‘novaeangliae’ is Latin for New England – their name translates literally to ‘giant-winged New Englander’! Humpbacks were named this for a reason: their huge pectoral fins are proportionally the longest of any cetacean, and they are a common sight off the New England coast. Their common name in most languages (e.g. Icelandic hnúfubakur, German Buckelwal, Danish pukkelhval, French baleine à bosse) describes the characteristic hump of their backs as they set off on a deep dive.

Humpback by name, humpback by nature

Many beaked whales, members of the family Ziphiidae, are simply named after their discoverer, and Blainville’s beaked whale is no exception. This deep-diving species was first described by the French zoologist Henri de Blainville when he came across a small piece of jawbone. However, a closer look at their scientific name – Mesoplodon densirostris – reveals something interesting. The bones in their rostrum (the beak and jaw) are the densest of any animal!

As is the case for M. densirostris, scientific names very often describe something about the species. For example, the sperm whale has a remarkably large head that makes up a third of their body length! So their scientific name Physeter macrocephalus is entirely appropriate: ‘macrocephalus’ comes from the Greek for ‘big-headed’.

On the other hand, even taxonomists are not without a sense of humour. The blue whale was given its scientific name Balaenoptera musculus by Carl Linnaeus, the “father of taxonomy” and the inventor of the binomial naming system. Scientists still can’t decide why he chose ‘musculus’ as the species name, as it has a few possible meanings. One of those is ‘muscular’, which would certainly be fitting for the largest animal ever to have lived – but the other is ‘little mouse’! Now that would really be ironic... perhaps we should change the common name to match, and start calling this immense creature the little mouse whale?

Whale of the Month - Gray Whale

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 11:41:51 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: gray whale, grey whale, gray back whale

Icelandic name: sandlægja

Scientific name: Eschrichtius robustus

Family: Eschrichtiidae (gray whales), although recent studies suggest placement in Balaenopteridae (rorqual whales) instead

Max length: 14m (males), 14.9m (females)

Distribution: North Pacific Ocean and Pacific-adjacent areas of the Arctic

‍

Once abundant in the North Atlantic, gray whales were driven extinct in European waters as early as AD 500 – possibly due to whaling. They persisted off the Atlantic coast of America and around Greenland, and there are records of gray whales in Iceland throughout the 1600s, but by the early 1700s they had been wiped out. However, there have been a few sporadic sightings of gray whales outside of the Pacific in the past decade: in the Mediterranean, and even in the South Atlantic .

Aside from these few Atlantic wanderers, gray whales are now only found in the Pacific Ocean. They are divided into the Eastern North Pacific (ENP) and Western North Pacific (WNP) populations. The WNP population is found mostly in waters between Japan and Russia, but it is poorly known and very small – probably numbering between 200-300 individuals.

The ENP population was exploited heavily by whalers in the 19th century, but has since recovered and was recently estimated at over 24,000 whales. This population migrates up and down the west coast of America between their feeding grounds in Siberia and Alaska and their breeding grounds in the lagoons of Mexico. This annual round trip of 16,000 - 25,000km is the longest of any mammal.

Some gray whales migrate all the way from the WNP feeding grounds in Sakhalin Island, just north of Japan, to the breeding lagoons in Mexico with the ENP whales. This suggests that some of the gray whales which feed in the Western Pacific don’t actually belong to the WNP population at all, and that there is some mixing between the two populations in these feeding grounds.

This map shows the range of the ENP and WNP populations of gray whales, with the red line indicating the migration that some individuals make from one side of the Pacific to the other! Image from the International Whaling Commission .

Gray whales are unusual record-holders in the whale world: they are host to the greatest variety of ‘ectoparasites’, small animals which live on their skin. The most well-known of these freeloaders are barnacles, which gray whales pick up in their warm winter breeding grounds. The barnacles usually live for about a year and drop off in the colder waters where the whales feed in summer, leaving behind patches of de-pigmented scar tissue which gives gray whales their mottled colouring. The patterns created by these white patches can be used by biologists for photo identification. One species of barnacle, Cryptolepas rhachianecti, has such a close relationship with these whales that it is described as ‘host-specific’ – gray whales are the only place this barnacle will grow!

Barnacles are not the only parasites gray whales carry – they are also host to whale lice. Whale lice typically live in the areas around the barnacles, giving these patches an orange colour. Neither the whale lice nor the barnacles do much harm to gray whales. Barnacles are filter-feeders, collecting debris and small animals from the water, and just use the whales for a free ride. Whale lice feed on algae that grows on the whale’s skin, as well as dead and damaged skin.

A patch of barnacles and whale lice on a gray whale’s head. Photo by Joe McKenna .

Although this sounds unpleasant, it can actually be good for the whale. One female gray whale was struck by a Russian whaling harpoon in the 1980s. Incredibly, she survived, and is still spotted migrating up and down the coast of America every year . But this serious injury left her with a large scar on her back and has earned her the nickname ‘Scarback’. Over 30 years later, the wound is still not fully healed, and the scar is teeming with whale lice. These lice feed on the dead and decaying tissue, keeping the wound clean – if not for the whale lice, Scarback may not have survived this long with such an injury.

Gray whales are also unique in the way that they feed. Like other baleen whales, they feed on small aquatic invertebrates; but unlike other baleen whales, they like to hunt for these animals in the seabed itself rather than in the water. Their baleen plates are very short and coarse, which allows the gray whales to filter out particles of sand and mud in the way that other baleen whales filter out water. This is a pretty handy adaptation to have when your dinner is literally a mouthful of sand!

‍

Learn more about...

Gray whales migrating from Sakhalin Island, Russia, to breeding lagoons in Mexico

How fossilised whale barnacles can reveal ancient migration routes

Whales and Vikings: Whales in the historical Icelandic sources

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 11:41:49 GMT

WHO WERE THE VIKINGS?

You may have heard that Iceland was settled in the second half of the ninth century, at around 870 AD. Seafarers that we call Vikings today came from Norway and Ireland to make a home for themselves on this island that they found in the North Atlantic.

THE WRITINGS OF THE VIKINGS

As soon as Christianity came to Iceland at around 1000 AD, the culture of manuscript writing also arrived and monks were put to work to write down and copy not just biblical texts, but also stories and poems of the past generations that tell us about their lives and their belief system. From the very beginning of the settlement, Icelanders kept a meticulous record of who settled where, whose children took over which farm and who went on adventures overseas to discover what. For example, the exploration of North America and how Vikings fared there is described in a historical source called Eiríks saga rauða, the Saga of Erik the Red .

Erik the Red as depicted in 1688 in Arngrímur Jónsson’s Grönlandia .

WHALES IN THE SOURCES

Whales and other sea creatures that live around Iceland were also mentioned in these sources - not surprisingly, seeing as Vikings were quite often out at sea for many days. Whenever whales were named in the Icelandic sagas, they usually served a specific function. Manuscript parchment was scarce and the Icelanders did not dwell on describing the fun antics of dolphins as we may be inclined to do in modern reports of whale encounters.

Firstly, whales were important for indicating that fishing grounds were nearby the island, which was of interest to the Vikings who were looking for a new home where they would be able to sustain themselves. With whales being found all around Iceland close to the shores and in the fjords, it was a good indicator that rich fishing grounds were in these places, proving that the island they discovered was a great places to settle.

Furthermore, stranded whales could serve not only as a food source, but also as a means to divide the land. As Iceland was a completely new country to humans, the settlers needed to decide who would own which part of the land from now on. When a whale was found dead on the beach, conflict could arise about who would own the meat, if the land had not been clearly divided yet. In Grettis saga (the Saga of Grettir) and Fóstbræðra saga (the Saga of the Sworn Brothers), the conflict over a beached whale led to a long-lasting feud between two families. This scenario could have been the inspiration for the depiction of a brutal fight over a beached whale in the TV show Vikings. In an episode of season 6, a settler called Kjetill claims the whale as his own as it washed up on his land, and proceeds to kill the other Vikings who insist that he shares the resources that can be yielded from this large animal, which he refuses to do.

Screenshot from the show Vikings (by Michael Hirst), season 6, episode 15

The ancestors of today's Icelanders loved mentioning supernatural occurrences in their sagas, possibly to create more excitement and interest in the stories. Whales sometimes appeared as magical creatures which the Vikings encountered in dangerous sea conditions. In a saga called Ketils saga hængs (the Saga of Ketill Trout), a whale with “human eyes” comes to the rescue of Ketill, the protagonist, who has been lost at sea in a storm. The whale leads him to a friendly shore and even uses its powers to calm down the storm. This story could be an allegory for how whales were often aids in navigation for the humans whose life depended on seafaring.

Sometimes, whales were also evil creatures in the sagas, like in Friðþjófs saga (the Saga of Friðþjófr) where the protagonist and his crew come across a whale accompanied by two witches riding its back, hindering the seafarers from reaching the land they desired to go to. The whale and the witches were sent by an evil king which the protagonist is at odds with, thus, it is not the main antagonist, but a part of the evil forces.

IN CONCLUSION...

To summarize, whales are depicted in the historical Icelandic sagas to serve numerous narratological functions. They indicated on the one hand that Iceland was a desirable land for settlement as their presence all around its shores indicated rich fishing grounds. Stranded whales served as food sources themselves, and also sparked discussions about how to divide the new land between settlers. Furthermore, whales were at times a part of descriptions of supernatural encounters at sea, whether as friendly helpers or antagonistic monsters.

As far as we can say, there is no proof in these sources that whales were ever actively hunted by the ancestors of modern Icelanders. Although this may occasionally have been the case, it never seemed to have been practiced to a high degree that it was worth being mentioned in the sagas.

When we find these large animals on whale watching tours around Iceland, it seems logical that we would want to tell our own stories about what the encounter with them means for our own lives! Maybe you can take some inspiration from the Icelanders of the past.

SOURCE

Murray-Bergquist, Karin. " ‘To Talk of Many Things.‘ Whales, Walrus, and Seals in Medieval Icelandic Literature. " MA thesis, University of Iceland, 2017.

Gerald of Wales. "Topographia Hibernica." Salisbury, late 12th–early 13th century: Harley MS 4751 , f. 69r.

Whale of the Month - Northern Bottlenose Whale

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 11:41:48 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: northern bottlenose whale

Icelandic name: andarnefja

Scientific name: Hyperoodon ampullatus

Family: Ziphiidae (beaked whales)

Max length: 9.8m (males), 8.5m (females)

Distribution: North Atlantic Ocean

‍

The northern bottlenose whale is the largest beaked whale in the North Atlantic. Beaked whales are some of the most elusive cetaceans and as such these species can be very difficult to research. But northern bottlenose whales were previously hunted throughout the Atlantic, and have been relatively well-studied due to the availability of specimens from whaling. In addition to this, they are an inquisitive species and regularly approach boats.

Bottlenose whales have a very distinctive protruding round melon and short beak. Males are slightly larger than females, and there are also some differences in the shape and colour of the melon which can help to identify the sex. Males have larger and much steeper foreheads, so that their melon appears almost square, which lighten with age.

As is characteristic of beaked whales, only the males have teeth: one pair of small, conical teeth protrude forwards from the tip of the bottom jaw. Their remaining teeth (and all pairs of teeth for females) stay buried in the gums for their whole life.

This singular pair of teeth are not used for hunting or feeding. Most male beaked whales use their teeth while fighting other males in competitions for mates. The northern bottlenose whale is unusual in this respect, as they do not use their teeth while fighting – instead, they use their large melons to head-butt or ram one another.

Northern bottlenose whales primarily eat deep-water squids, but they may also feed on some bottom-dwelling fish species and invertebrates. Since their food live at the bottom of the ocean, these whales live away from the shallow coasts in areas which are very deep. Like all beaked whales, they are expert deep divers, and hunt near the seafloor at depths of over 800m – sometimes as deep as 1,400m. Northern bottlenose whales are capable of making dives two hours or more, but they are normally less.

Although we have more information on northern bottlenose whales compared to most other beaked whales, behavioural studies are still rare. Most of our knowledge in this respect comes from a deep-water canyon system in Nova Scotia, which a relatively small and isolated population of northern bottlenose whales inhabit . Here, photo identification – using photographs of the dorsal fin to identify and individual whale – can be used successfully to assess this population’s size and how it changes over time, seasonal movements within the region, and its social structure.

The dorsal fin and back of a northern bottlenose whale, with scars and natural markings used for photo ID. Photo from the Northeast Atlantic northern bottlenose whale photo ID catalogue.

These northern bottlenose whales form small social units, normally consisting of less than 10 individuals, but occasionally aggregate in groups up to 50. Despite being deep divers, with similar prey to sperm whales, northern bottlenose whales appear to have a very different social structure. Their social groups are much more similar to those of typically shallow-feeding bottlenose dolphins. Females have loose networks with other females and juveniles, and do not appear to form particularly strong or long-term social bonds. On the other hand, males do form strong associations, but only with other males.

In Icelandic waters research is carried out on bottlenose whales using the same photo ID technique, as well as acoustic monitoring. However, in Iceland and the northeastern Atlantic as a whole, obtaining reliable estimates of population size has proven challenging.

In 1995, there was extensive, in-depth research into the population of northern bottlenose whales in the Northeast Atlantic. This project used a wealth of data from many different sources. Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive: estimating the pre-whaling population as anywhere between 35,000 and 110,000 whales, and the current population as either recovered or still greatly reduced in the aftermath of commercial whaling.

The species as a whole is classed as near-threatened, but the IUCN considers the status of northern bottlenose whales in European waters to be data-deficient. Current research being carried out in Iceland will help to fill in the gaps in current scientific knowledge, and provide much-needed data for the conservation of this mysterious and enigmatic whale.

‍

Learn more about...

The social structure of northern bottlenose whales

Deep dives made by bottlenose whales while hunting

Whale of the Month - Common Dolphin

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 11:41:46 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: short-beaked common dolphin

Icelandic name: léttir

Scientific name: Delphinus delphis

Family: Delphinidae (dolphins)

Max length: 2m (males), 1.93m (females)

Distribution: Temperate and tropical waters worldwide

‍

The common dolphin is the most numerous dolphin found in the temperate waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. There are an estimated 467,000 in the European Atlantic, with a further 5,200 in the Mediterranean Sea. Although the Bay of Biscay and coastal waters around France and Spain host the greatest number of dolphins, they are occasionally seen further north in waters around Iceland and Greenland.

Common dolphins are found in a range of marine environments across the globe, and as such they hunt a wide variety of prey. They can dive up to 200m underwater for small deep-water fish and squid, as well as hunting for shallower schooling fishes like herring and sardines. In general, common dolphins show a preference for one kind of prey. Their preferred prey varies region-to-region depending on what is most available there, but they typically choose fatty, high-energy species. These preferences are to an extent flexible. If there is a decrease in their primary prey – for example, due to overfishing – common dolphins can switch to a new species.

Like most dolphins, common dolphins are very social, and it is not unusual for them to live in groups a hundred strong. They are often seen in even larger aggregations called ‘superpods’ which may consist of over a thousand dolphins travelling and hunting in close proximity to one another. These groups form when multiple pods – usually 20 to 30 dolphins – join together. You can watch some footage of a common dolphin superpod in Monterey Bay here.

How common dolphins form their pods is a question that remains largely unanswered. For many other dolphin species, pods are extended family units – but common dolphin pods don’t consist of closely related individuals. In the Northeast Atlantic, close relatives are usually found living in the same are as one another, so common dolphins may not travel too far from the pod they were born into.

Travelling in large groups over long distances, common dolphins are able to maintain contact with their companions by altering their vocal behaviour. When the group is spread out over a wide area, such as during travelling, the dolphins call to one another frequently. On the other hand, when foraging in a more closely aggregated group, they reduce the frequency of their vocalisations.

On multiple occasions, common dolphins have reproduced with another species of dolphin to produce hybrids. Hybridisation is not an unusual occurrence amongst dolphins. In fact, one species of dolphin, the Clymene dolphin, evolved as a result of cross-breeding between spinner and striped dolphins.

In one particular region of Greece, hybridisation between common and striped dolphins seems to be especially frequent, with at least 15 confirmed hybrids. These hybrids are fertile and can produce offspring with other hybrids as well as either parent species.

Although they have a fairly specialised diet, common dolphins do have the ability to switch from one primary prey species to another. Therefore, they may have some resilience to changes in marine ecosystems as different prey populations fluctuate in size. However, they face other threats from human activities. The species as a whole is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but the sub-population in the Mediterranean has been declining since the 1970s and is currently listed as Endangered. In the Mediterranean, common dolphins face the combined effects of habitat degradation with increasing human coastal developments, chemical and plastic pollution, bycatch, and intensive fishing of multiple prey species.

In addition to this, common dolphins will have to adapt to life in a warming ocean. The effects of climate change on this species are not yet fully clear but it's likely that their global distribution will shift towards the poles as sea temperatures continue to rise. There is some evidence that this change is underway already: a long-term monitoring project off the coast of Scotland has seen a marked increase in the frequency of common dolphin sightings. It is possible that this occasional visitor to Icelandic coasts may become a more familiar sight in years to come.

‍

Learn more about...

The endangered Mediterranean sub-population and hybridisation with striped dolphins

How common dolphins can change what they eat in response to changes in their ecosystem

Whale of the Month - Minke Whale

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 11:41:45 GMT

Species fact file

Common names: Common minke whale, lesser rorqual

Icelandic name: hrefna

Scientific name: Balaenoptera acutorostrata

Family: Balaenopteridae (rorqual whales)

Max length: 8.7m (males), 9m (females)

Distribution: Ice-free and non-enclosed seas of the North Atlantic

‍

The name minke whale actually applies to two species – the common minke whale and the Antarctic minke whale. The common minke whale is the smallest species of baleen whale found in Iceland, and the second smallest in the world after the pygmy right whale. There are three subspecies of common minke – the North Atlantic minke whale, the North Pacific minke whale and the dwarf minke whale which is found in the southern hemisphere.

North Atlantic minke whales are dark grey with a white underside and distinctive white bands on the pectoral fins. Their small, curved dorsal fin is positioned two-thirds of the way down the back which gives the minke a distinctive profile when surfacing. Minkes typically surface a few times in quick succession before making a longer, deeper dive which can last 20 minutes or more. Their movements are often erratic, which can make them difficult to track – when they dive, it is almost impossible to predict where they will next come up for air!

When minke whales come to the surface you can see the characteristic white stripe on their fins

Historically, minke whales were not favoured by whalers due to their small size. Today they are one of the few species of whales still hunted commercially, including in Iceland. Despite this they are the most abundant cetacean in Icelandic waters – an estimated 12,710 minke whales are found in Icelandic coastal waters during summertime. They are commonly sighted on whale-watching tours, especially in Faxaflói bay.

Like other rorquals, minke whales engage in lunge feeding. This is an energetic form of hunting where the whale swims at great speeds towards a ball of schooling fish or a dense aggregation of plankton, engulfing great mouthfuls of water and prey at a time. You can watch some footage of minke whales lunge feeding here.

Minke whales are mostly generalist hunters and do not appear to have one preferred prey type. Their diet varies by season and by region. There is evidence that minke whales in Iceland have switched prey in recent decades. It is thought that this may be linked to climate change as during the same period of time, there have been notable changes in water temperature and salinity in the waters around Iceland. While unlikely to affect large and warm-blooded marine mammals such as minke whales, smaller species that are low in the food chain are susceptible to these environmental changes. They may change how they are distributed or simply decline in abundance. As a result, the species available to minke whales as food have changed throughout time.

Sandeel, which was previously a major component of minke whale diet, is now consumed much less frequently. There has also been a decrease in the consumption of krill and capelin. On the other hand, herring and haddock have become important prey for minke whales.

As with most other baleen whales in Iceland, minke whales migrate seasonally. In summer, minke whales are found in sub-polar and cold temperate waters, including ice-free regions of the arctic. Their winter distributions are not fully understood, but minkes are known to leave their northern feeding grounds and migrate further south to warmer temperate and tropical regions.

Despite the geographic separation of the two species, there is evidence of at least one case of hybridisation between Antarctic and common minke whales in the northeast Atlantic. This is the first documented incidence of Antarctic minke whales in the northern hemisphere.

Unlike larger balaenopterids, minke whales don’t sing, but they do produce a range of vocalisations. These include grunts, thumps, and ‘down sweeps’ – sliding from a high frequency to a lower one. In the North Pacific minke whales make strange sounds described as ‘boings’ . When scientists first heard this unusual noise recorded on hydrophones, they didn’t know where it came from – it was many years before they realised it had been the common minke whale all along!

‍

‍ Learn more about...

Effects of climate change on the diet of minke whales

Common and Antarctic minke whale hybrids

How do whales hold their breath so long?

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 11:41:43 GMT

Whales and dolphins are mammals, just like us, and just like us they need to breathe air. But their food is underwater, so they need to hunt and feed all without taking a breath. Luckily, whales and dolphins have some pretty nifty tricks up their sleeve! In this article, you can learn a bit about how cetaceans have evolved to survive life in the ocean. There may be some terms you are unfamiliar with, which you can check in the glossary at the bottom of the page.

The longest that a human has ever held their breath for is about 25 minutes – which is pretty impressive! But some species of whale can stay underwater for well over 2 hours while looking for food. There are two main adaptations that allow cetaceans to hold their breath for such remarkably long periods of time: they maximise how much oxygen they store in their bodies, and minimise the speed at which it is used up.

‍

Increasing oxygen stores

Surprisingly, whales and dolphins don’t have very large lungs. This is because they store very little oxygen in their lungs compared to land mammals. Instead, the blood and muscles hold most of their oxygen reserves. This allows for more efficient use during a dive. Cetaceans have higher blood volumes and red cell concentrations, and more muscle fibres with a greater concentration of myoglobin .

‍

Decreasing oxygen use

Cetaceans are able to reduce their use of oxygen in some amazing ways. While underwater, normal activity in the gut is stopped. This means that any prey caught during the dive is not digested until the whale is back at the surface.

In the ocean, the water gets colder the deeper you go. Instead of using precious energy and oxygen trying to keep warm, cetaceans allow their body temperature to drop almost to the point of hypothermia .

A reduction in heart rate – bradycardia – reduces the rate that blood flows through the body. This also reduces the rate at which oxygen in the blood is used up. Some cetaceans are able to dramatically decrease their heart rate – blue whales have been measured as low as 2 beats per minute (BPM) during a dive!

As well as this, blood flow to non-essential organs and tissues is reduced or cut off entirely. This means most of their blood can be diverted to muscles and essential organs. The brain is the only organ which receives the same level of blood flow while underwater and at the surface. This central organ ischemia helps to maintain a low heart rate, as blood being pumped to fewer areas of the body doesn’t require as much pressure.

We all know the feeling of getting a cramp in our side after an intense workout or a long run. Exercise increases our body’s need for oxygen, and we get these painful cramps when we have used up all our available oxygen reserves. Cetaceans modify their behaviour to help avoid increased demand for oxygen due to exercise. For example: rather than actively swimming, deep-diving whales can take advantage of natural changes in buoyancy and instead glide passively for much of their descent. This strategy can save up 60% of the energetic cost of dives!

‍

Avoiding the bends

Retaining enough oxygen to last the dive is only half of the battle, as there are other problems that come with storing atmospheric gas at pressure. These are problems that humans face too; SCUBA divers will be familiar with the dangers of decompression sickness (DCS).

DCS, or ‘the bends’, arises when there is excess nitrogen in the blood while at depth – upon rapid ascent, the nitrogen forms bubbles in the blood. In order to avoid this potentially deadly condition, whales and dolphins must keep the movement of nitrogen from the lungs into the blood to a minimum during a dive.

Cetaceans take a breath in before they dive, meaning that there is air in their lungs and airways for the whole dive. To prevent the nitrogen in this air moving from the lungs to the blood, cetaceans’ lungs flatten while they are at depth. Their respiratory tracts are reinforced with cartilage , making them rigid but flexible. When the lungs collapse air is forced into the cartilaginous airways where it is stored throughout the dive.

Adaptations for oxygen conservation can also help to prevent DCS in diving cetaceans: central organ ischemia and a slow heart rate limit blood flow and the movement of nitrogen into organs such as the liver and kidneys.

‍

Beaked whales, military sonar and the bends

Although marine mammals are well-adapted against DCS, this does not mean they are immune. Multiple mass stranding events of extreme deep-diving beaked whales have been linked to naval sonar activity. These whales consistently suffer injuries consistent with DCS. We still don’t know exactly what happens to cause these stranding events, but it is thought that exposure to sonar triggers abnormal dive behaviour – such as extended periods at depth or a very rapid return to the surface – which then leads to DCS.

Beaked whale diving behaviour is unlike that of other cetaceans, involving very deep and long foraging dives, a relatively slow ascent, and either a long surface interval or an extended series of short and shallow dives. This may make them especially vulnerable to DCS – if any part of the dive sequence is interrupted it could lead to an excess of nitrogen in the body, leading to gas bubble formation and potentially death.

Cetaceans are well adapted to an environment that is extremely hostile to other mammals. But there is still a lot to be learned about the adaptations which allow whales and dolphins to thrive in their underwater home – and how human activities could be interfering with them.

Learn more about...

The mammalian diving response

Effects of military sonar on deep-diving whales

‍

Glossary

Adaptation - any aspect of a living creature which has been modified by evolution to make it better suited to survive in its environment

Atmospheric gas - the combination of gases which make up air, primarily nitrogen and oxygen.

Bradycardia - a slow heart rate, opposite is tachycardia

Buoyancy - the amount an object sinks or floats in liquid

Cartilage - a connective tissue similar to but more elastic and flexible than bone, found (among other places) in the nose and ears

Central organ ischemia - restriction of blood flow to non-essential organs such as the gut, kidney and liver which can tolerate periods with no oxygen

Hypothermia - a drop in core body temperature to a dangerous level

Mass stranding event - when a number of whales, that may be alive or already dead, come ashore

Myoglobin - a molecule found in the muscle which stores oxygen

Red cells - cells in the blood which carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body

Whale of the Month - Killer Whale

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 11:41:41 GMT

Our whale of the month feature is back from a summer holiday! ‍

‍

Species fact file

Common names: killer whale, orca

Icelandic name: háhyrningur

Scientific name: Orcinus orca

Family: Delphinidae (dolphins)

Max length: 9.8m (males), 7.9m (females)

Distribution: global

‍

September’s whale of the month is the killer whale, or orca. Killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family and they are found in almost every ocean on the planet: from coastal shallows to the open sea, from the tropics to the poles. You can meet them at the 4th stop on our audio guide.

Male killer whales are larger than females and have a very tall dorsal fin – it can reach up to 2m tall! This, along with their size and their distinctive black and white colouring, makes this species relatively easy to identify at sea. Their markings are like fingerprints: the shape of the dorsal fin and the light-coloured saddle patch behind it as well as the many scars and notches that a whale picks up throughout its life are unique. This means scientists can identify any killer whale from a photograph of them and provides information on where they are at different times of year, what they are feeding on, and which other killer whales they are socialising with.

Killer whales are top marine predators and as a species have a wide and varied diet, feeding on small fish, sharks, seabirds, seals, other dolphins and even some of the largest species of whales! However, in some places, killer whales can be very picky eaters. For example, the ‘resident’ killer whales of Washington state and British Columbia hunt for the same few species of salmon year-round, even when other kinds of fish are more abundant.

For many years, scientists thought that Icelandic killer whales had a similarly strict diet and only ate herring. Recent research has shown that some killer whales follow the Icelandic herring between their summer and winter grounds, and strongly suggests that they do prefer herring over other fish. But scientists found that other Icelandic killer whales travel to the north of Scotland in summer where they have been seen feeding on seals, just like the local Scottish killer whales. It seems that these orcas make this journey every year before returning to Iceland to feed on shoals of herring during winter.

We have known for a long time that killer whales are found around Iceland, but there has only been dedicated research carried out on this population recently, which is why we are still finding out so much about them.

One of these recent discoveries is the interesting and unusual interaction between killer whales and long-finned pilot whales in the herring spawning grounds of Vestmannaeyjar, a group of islands off the south coast of Iceland. Researchers have seen large groups of pilot whales harassing killer whales, approaching at high speed and driving them out of the area. We still don’t know why pilot whales do this – it may be a response to killer whales as potential predators, or as competition for prey – and this interaction is the focus of research by the University of Iceland.

Another area of ongoing research is the structure of Icelandic killer whale society.

Like all dolphins, killer whales are a very social species. Most of what we know about killer whale social structure comes from the ‘resident’ and ‘transient’ populations of the Pacific Northwest, which have been closely studied for decades. While the ‘residents’ are salmon specialists, ‘transient’ killer whales will only eat marine mammals – and this difference is reflected in their social structures. Despite living in the same area, these two populations are socially isolated and do not interact. However, Icelandic killer whales don’t seem to do this, as they are not socially divided based on their diet: those which hunt seals in Scotland over summer interact and socialise with the year-round herring specialists during winter months in Iceland.

This flexible, seasonally-variable society is very different to the rigid social structure of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest, and that we found these differences so recently shows just how much we still have to learn about this iconic and beloved species.

‍

Learn more about...

What killer whales in Iceland eat

Killer whales that move between Iceland and Scotland

The social structure of Icelandic killer whales

Whale of the Month - Bowhead Whale

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 11:41:40 GMT

The whale of the month for June is the bowhead whale, a baleen whale living almost exclusively in arctic and subarctic waters. This whale can be found at the 11th stop in our audio-guide. The bowhead whale gets its name from the size and shape of it's skull – their bow-shaped head is unique and represents roughly one third of their entire body length!

Bowhead whales average between 16-20 meters in length and 75-100 tons in weight, with females being slightly larger than males. They have a dark body with a light chin, and unlike most cetaceans they do not have a dorsal fin as they spend much of their time in icy waters. They use their size to their advantage when the sea freezes over and are able to break through ice that is at least 18 cm thick. They have adapted well to life in the arctic, and have a layer of blubber that can be up to 48cm thick.

Despite being large in size and living in what we would consider an extreme climate, bowheads can live a very long time. Based on scientific analysis of eye tissue and harpoon tips found in the blubber of these whales it's thought that they could easily reach at least 200 years of age. Like all baleen whales, bowheads are filter feeders, and consume a diet of marine invertebrates, crustaceans, copepods, and small fish. They have the longest baleen plates of all whales which is good, since they need an estimated 100 metric tons of food each year.

Vocalization is an important part of a bowhead whale's life and is used to find food and navigate migration routes. A fascinating project that took place from 2010-2014 off the coast of Greenland recorded 184 distinct songs from an estimated population of 300 bowheads. The songs changed between seasons and individuals. You can listen to some of these songs at the bottom of this post.

The bowhead is not known as a deep diver, but they can reach depths of 150 meters. Their average dive is 9-18 minutes long but can be up to 1 hour. They are usually found alone or in small pods of up to 6 individuals, though mother and calf pairs will migrate separately from male groups and remain separated during the summer months while the calves are feeding. Calves stay with their mothers for roughly one year and a female will have a calf every 3-4 years.

Historically, the bowhead whale was hunted commercially from the 1800's to the early 1900's. They were a prized target as they had lots of valuable oil and baleen and are very slow swimmers. Whaling devastated the global population. It is thought that by the time commercial whaling of bowheads ended in 1921, there were fewer than 3,000 left. They have been making a comeback, with some populations doing better than others. It is estimated that there are between 10,000 and 50,000 individuals today.

Like many cetaceans, the bowhead faces a variety of threats. These threats include ship strikes, entanglement in fishing nets and equipment, noise and chemical pollution, climate change, offshore oil and gas work, and the occasional attack from killer whales. Some Inuit populations have permission to hunt a small number of bowhead whales each year.

The bowhead whale can occasionally be seen off the northern coast of Iceland, which is at the southern edge of their usual range. The Icelandic name for bowhead whales is norðhvalur, which means 'north whale'.

‍

You can read more about bowhead whales and their exfoliating behaviors here , and listen to a recording of their songs below!

Whale of the Month - Bottlenose Dolphin

Wed, 05 May 2021 11:41:38 GMT

The Whale of the Month for May is the bottlenose dolphin, a highly intelligent member of the delphinidae family of oceanic dolphins. The bottlenose dolphin is located in the front room of the exhibition with the other toothed whale species. Different species of bottlenose dolphins live in almost every part of the world with the exception of the poles.

The average life expectancy of a bottlenose dolphin is around 40-45 years. Females typically live 5-10 years longer than their male counterparts. There are records of some females living to be over the age of 60, though this is rare. Their average length is roughly 4 meters, and they can weigh between 300-400kg. They have a short and thick snout called a rostrum and their colour can vary between shades of gray, blue, brown, and black. Offshore bottlenose dolphins are typically larger than those living closer to land in coastal waters. They have an average speed of 5-11 km/hour but can perform high-speed bursts of up to 29-35 km/hour.

Bottlenose dolphins live in pods ranging from a few individuals to over 100 depending on the activity taking place. Adult males usually live in small pods of 2-3 individuals or alone, and then join other pods for short periods of time. Adult females, juveniles, and calves form their own pods, but membership is fluid and group members can and do change often. They communicate using burst pulsed sounds, whistles, and through body language including jumping out of the water, snapping their jaws, slapping their tails, and butting heads with each other.

These dolphins are considered to be extremely intelligent and have been observed to use artificial language and mimicry. They are capable of object categorization and self-recognition, can use tools, and pass cultural knowledge between generations. Bottlenose dolphins in captivity have been trained by military forces to locate sea mines and detect enemy divers. Wild bottlenose dolphins have been recorded cooperating with fishermen by herding fish into their nets, eating the ones that escape. Their diet includes fish, shrimp, squid, mollusks, and cuttlefish. They can hunt alone or as part of groups and can change their strategies to fit the hunting situation. They have been recorded using sea sponges as tools to dig up food from the sea floor and pass this skill-based knowledge between generations.

Natural predators of the bottlenose dolphin include larger shark species, particularly preying on calves. Killer whales are also occasional predators, but less common than sharks. Bottlenose dolphins face a variety of dangers including boat collisions, being caught in fishing nets, pollutants, reduced food availability, habitat degradation, noise pollution, oil spills, and illegal feeding and harassment from humans. They are not endangered overall, but some populations are at higher risk than others.

While not as common in Icelandic waters as the white-beaked dolphin, bottlenose dolphins have been seen in many places around the country. Two bottlenose dolphins made headlines in Iceland when they stranded just off the coast of Reykjavik in 2018 – unfortunately only one of them survived despite the best efforts and hard work from rescue teams. They are most commonly seen off the south coast where the waters are warmer, but have been spotted by whale watching companies in the very north of the country and along the west coast.

Do whales go through menopause?

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 11:41:37 GMT

In addition to humans, the only other mammals who are known to experience menopause are all cetaceans: killer whales, short-finned pilot whales, narwhals, and beluga whales. Of these four types of whales, the killer whale's behavior is by far the most studied and documented. Scientists are not sure why these whales go through menopause when so many other larger mammals do not. One hypothesis for both humans and whales is known as the Grandmother Effect, where older females care for children and grandchildren beyond their reproductive years.

Killer whales live in matriarchal pods and are typically led by older females. Offspring usually stay with their original pod, with males leaving for short periods of time to reproduce with females from other pods. Female orcas go through menopause in their 30's and 40's but can live well into their 90's, if not longer. It is thought that menopause is therefore the best way to ensure that an individual's genetic offspring survive – when orca daughters begin reproducing their mother will often begin menopause, helping to care for her other children and grandchildren instead of adding additional calves to increase competition for food and resources. This is thought to increase the likelihood of survival for the new calves.

Emma Foster, a PhD student from the University of Exeter working with the Center for Whale Research, went through decades of data and discovered some fascinating statistics. If a male orca's mother died before he was 30, he was 3 times more likely to die within a year. If the male was over 30 years old, he was 8 times more likely to die within a year. If his mother had already gone through menopause, he was 14 times more likely to die. This data clearly shows that older female orcas have a massive impact on the survival of their offspring, especially their sons. In addition to sharing food with their sons and younger calves in their pod, the older matriarchs are also thought to be more likely to know where to look for food and mediate conflicts between members of their pod and other orcas.

While the exact reasons behind it are still not certain, menopause is a fascinating connection between humans and whales. It will be interesting to see further research over the years and if any other species experience this phenomenon.

Whale of the Month - Fin Whale

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 11:41:35 GMT

February's whale of the month is the fin whale, which is one of the largest animals in the world second only to the blue whale. It is the final stop in our audio guide and is located in the back room of the exhibition. Fin whales are sometimes called razorbacks or the greyhounds of the sea due to their fast swimming speeds. They live in every ocean except for parts of the Arctic that are covered in ice.

Fin whales have a life expectancy of around 80-90 years, though some accounts suggest that they can live to be over 100. They can grow up to 26 meters long and weigh up to 160,000 pounds. Like many ocean inhabitants, their back is dark and their underside is light. The colouring on the jaw is unique, with the lower jaw on the right side being mostly white and the left side mostly dark. The are the fastest great whale and can sustain speeds between 35 km/h to 41 km/hour, with bursts of up to 45 km/h. The total number of individuals left is not known for certain, but is thought to be fewer than 100,000.

Fin whales are usually seen in small pods of 2-10 individuals, but there have been much larger groups seen during feeding and migration periods. They rarely breach or spyhop, preferring to keep most of their body beneath the surface. Despite their tendency to stay in small pods they are not shy about meeting other species of cetaceans and have been seen interacting with humpbacks and blue whales. They have also been known to breed with the larger blue whales, creating hybrid offspring. They are filter feeders and use their long baleen plates to take up to 70 cubic meters of water in before filtering it out to feast on small fish and squids, copepods, and krill. Their baleen plates can reach up to 75cm in length and 30 cm in width. They are thought to eat around 1,800 kg of food per day.

The threats that fin whales face today include ship strikes, entanglement, noise pollution, and hunting. The only natural predator of the fin whale is the orca. Orcas will attack young calves, but once they have grown they are usually no longer a target. Historically, fin whales were hunted in the 20th century up to the 1980's. Despite being considered an endangered species, Iceland and Japan have continued to hunt them. There is some good news on that front – whaling in Iceland has taken a pause. Most whale meat was exported to Japan, but increasing restrictions, decreasing demand, and public opinion have had an impact on Icelandic whaling. Another significant factor is a marine sanctuary established around Reykjavík. In 2017 this area was expanded, causing whaling boats to have to sail much further out. Many countries all over the world are seeing the benefits of whale watching over whaling for both the environment and the local economy.

Fin whales can be seen around Iceland, especially in the northern part of the country. They are found in the south of Iceland as well, but the deeper waters they tend to favor are further out to sea so it is less common to see them on whale watching tours off the southern coast.

COVID-19 Updates

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 11:41:33 GMT

Whales of Iceland is closely following all government updates regarding COVID-19. In light of the new regulations announced last week, we wanted to remind our guests of the measures that are already being taken, and of a few small changes.

Hand sanitizer is available in our reception area and inside the exhibition. All common areas and surfaces are being regularly cleaned and disinfected. Our staff has been provided with masks and gloves. Masks are not currently mandatory for our staff or for our visitors, but if you would like to have a mask they are available for 200 ISK at our front desk. If possible, please pay with credit card instead of cash.

There is now a limit of 100 people inside the exhibition at any given time. Our staff is counting the visitors that we let in, so if we are full please be patient - you will be allowed in as soon as there is space.

Due to the COVID updates we are no longer offering live-guided tours nor the use of the VR headsets. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this causes. Audio guides are still available in 12 languages, and each mp3 player and pair of headphones is disinfected in between use.

We kindly ask that all visitors follow and respect the 2-meter social distancing rule at all times. If you have any questions before your visit, please reach out to info@whalesoficeland.is, or 00354-571-0077.

We look forward to welcoming you to the exhibition, and will post further updates as they come.

Whale of the Month - Long-Finned Pilot Whale

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 11:41:32 GMT

Our whale of the month for July is the long-finned pilot whale, one of two species of pilot whale (the other being the short-finned pilot whale). This whale can be found on the 8th stop in our audio-guide. It is thought that the pilot whales got their name by following their leader, or 'pilot'. Long-finned pilot whales are toothed whales, in the same parvorder of cetaceans as dolphins, porpoises, and orcas. Their exact numbers are unknown, but are estimated to be over 1,000,000.

Males are slightly larger than females, reaching sizes of nearly 7 meters in length (females can be up to roughly 6 meters long). They are black or dark grey in colour, with lighter markings on the face, throat and stomach. The patch on the throat is often shaped like an anchor. They prefer deep waters in the North Atlantic and in the Southern Hemisphere, though they are also often seen in more coastal waters and are a popular sight for whale watching tours. Fish, squid, octopus, and some crustaceans are the whales’ preferred food. They mainly feed at night and use echolocation when hunting. Their average lifespan is between 35-45 years for males and at least 60 years for females. Calves are born every 3-6 years after a gestation period of 12-16 months. Long-finned pilot whales have one of the longest known birth intervals of all cetaceans, and calves can spend nearly 4 years with their mother.

Long-finned pilot whales live in highly social pods of around 10-20 individuals, but gatherings of over 100 whales have been reported. They have been known to socialize and interact with other types of dolphins and whales. Studies suggest that the pods are matrilineal, and older females will help care for calves. Their strong social bonds could be a contributing factor to mass strandings – long-finned pilot whales are the most common species to strand in groups. The largest recent group stranding was in 2017, where over 600 whales beached off the coast of New Zealand.

In addition to strandings, long-finned pilot whales face other threats including disease (especially morbillivirus, which can severely damage their immune system and affect their ability to swim and float), chemical pollution, and noise pollution. They were hunted in the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States, Newfoundland, the Falkland Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland. They are still hunted today in the Faroe Islands.

Long-finned pilot whales are most often spotted off of the northwest and west coast of Iceland.

Whale of the Month - Sowerby's Beaked Whale

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 11:41:30 GMT

Our whale of the month for June is the Sowerby's beaked whale, the first beaked whale to be officially discovered. It is named after James Sowerby, an Englishman who described this species in 1804 after examining a skull that has washed up off the coast of Scotland in 1800. This whale can be found in the 7th stop of our audio-guide with the other beaked whales. While it is not common to see this whale around Iceland, their territory extends along the southern coast of Iceland. They live in waters ranging from 200 to 1,500 meters deep and are very shy, making sightings of them rare.

Very little information is known about Sowerby's beaked whale in comparison to many of the other whales featured in the exhibition. Their average lifespan and population estimates are unknown because there is not enough data available. The whales are a dark grey color with lighter undersides. Their sizes ranges from 5-6 meters, with females being slightly larger than males. Males can also be distinguished from females due to their two protruding teeth, visible on the lower jaw. Their average weight is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,300 kg.

Sowerby's beaked whales are thought to travel in small pods ranging from 3 to 10 individuals. They eat squid, mollusks, and smaller fish, though larger fish like cod has also been found in their stomachs. They have been recorded diving for up to 28 minutes, though typical dives last 10-15 minutes.

The two largest threats that these whales face are noise pollution and encounters with fishing equipment like nets, lines, and vessels. It is difficult to have a good overview of the full scale of the impact that this has on them as it is challenging to locate and study them.

Whale of the Month - Harbour Porpoise

Tue, 26 May 2020 11:41:29 GMT

May‘s whale of the month is the harbour porpoise, which is included in the 3rd stop of our audio guide. Harbour porpoises are one of the most common species seen in Faxaflói Bay and can be seen year-round. They have a shorter lifespan than many of the other cetaceans we have covered, averaging between 8-12 years. Some individuals are thought to live into their early 20s, but this is rare. Their average size is between 1.5-2 meters in length (5-6.5 feet) and they weigh between 60-70 kg.

Harbour porpoises are one of the smallest cetaceans in the world and live primarily in coastal areas. They are dark grey or brown with light grey-white markings on their sides and neck. They have rounded heads and spade-shaped teeth. They use their teeth to eat a wide variety of fish (a 2003 study from Iceland showed over 40 different types of fish and invertebrates in the stomachs of harbour porpoises), though they primarily feed on capelin, whiting, sandeels, and the occasional squid.

They are often seen alone or in small groups of 2-3 individuals, but larger groups have been observed in areas where food is abundant. These small cetaceans are not deep divers, with a maximum recorded depth of 34 meters. While not as vocal as dolphins, they do use clicks and echolocation to communicate with each other.

Killer whales, white sharks, and grey seals are all predators of the harbour porpoise. Bottlenose dolphins are also known to attack porpoises, though not as hunting/feeding behavior. While the exact reason for the dolphin attacks is not certain, it is thought to perhaps be in response to competition to food sources. Other threats that the harbour porpoise faces include fishing nets, chemical and noise pollution, and hunting.

Harbour porpoises are seen all around Iceland throughout the year. While they can sometimes be quite shy and difficult to spot at a distance, whale watching companies in Reykjavík often see them. They are also commonly spotted on tours close to the shore or around the small islands just outside of Reykjavík‘s Old Harbour. To try your luck in seeing these small and sturdy porpoises, you can book a Whale Watching Tour with our friends at Special Tours.

Do Whales Have Friends?

Mon, 18 May 2020 11:41:27 GMT

It is always fun to look at wild animals and see behaviors or interactions that we can relate to. The short answer to the question of whale friendship is that whales do have friends – we don‘t fully understand exactly how or why these relationships form, but we can define friendship as an obvious preference to another individual or individuals that lasts over many years. This preference occurs within pods and between migratory groups that do not see each other for the majority of the year. Friendships are seen in both baleen and toothed whales and are likely mutually beneficial relationships. The social structures and friendships between species varies, and we will look at three examples: orcas (killer whales), sperm whales, and humpback whales.

A study from University of Exeter, University of York, and Center for Whale Research published in 2017 indicates that male orcas significantly benefit from friendships and a stronger social position in their pod. Orca pods are tight-knit groups made of both males and females, often with multiple generations of offspring. This study suggests that the social position of male orcas, but not females, can determine their risk of mortality. Males that are more socially integrated with the pod have a much lower risk of mortality, especially when prey is not as readily available. These males appear to have more access to social information including the location of prey, and they are more likely to receive food from other orcas. Female orcas will share food with their ‘friends‘, or individuals that they are particularly close to. Males who have not integrated are three times more likely to die than males who have a strong position in the pod. For a male orca, it pays to have friends.

A 2015 study from Dalhousie University and University of St. Andrews revealed research from 10 years of tracking sperm whale pods. A sperm whale pod can range in size from 5-20 individuals and is typically made up of females and juveniles. Adult males occasionally join pods for short periods of time, and will sometimes form loose groups with other males. The pods observed spanned up to three generations of females. Different pods met and interacted with other groups of sperm whales periodically throughout the observation period. The study showed that the sperm whales show a preference for certain family members, and for ‘friends‘ in other pods. These friendships lasted for many years despite spending most of their time apart.

Toothed whales like orcas and dolphins are well-known for having complex and close social bonds within their pods. Baleen whales were initially thought to be less social than toothed whales, but research in the late 1990's and early 2000's showed that they also form strong family bonds and friendships. A 2010 study from Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology saw humpback whales reuniting with the same individuals repeatedly over many years. These reunions also occurred despite the humpbacks spending the majority of their time apart. The humpback friendship pairs observed were exclusively two females of similar ages, and they would spend the summer months together. These friendships are also shown to be beneficial, as female humpbacks who had successful and long-lasting friendship ties gave birth to higher numbers of calves. It is also thought that the ‘friendship feeding‘ improves hunting efficiency and can reduce competition between whales.

There are many examples of these types of ‘friendships‘, and while it is impossible for us to define these social ties and preferences as the same kind of friendship we experience, cetaceans certainly form social bonds and show preference to some individuals over others.

Whale of the Month - Beluga Whale

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 11:41:25 GMT

Our whale of the month for April is the beluga whale, which is the 6th whale you will encounter with our audio guide. Belugas have an average life expectancy of 35-50 years in the wild, though some studies have indicated that they can live as long as 70-80 years. Their average size ranges from 3-6 meters with males being slightly larger than females.

Belugas are born a grey or brown color and gradually turn completely white as they age. Their color helps them blend in with their arctic environment. They have a distinct head shape, with a large forehead called a 'melon'. The melon can change shapes when the whale emits sound and helps with echolocation. Melons are found on toothed whales, like the beluga or pilot whale, but not on baleen whales. The beluga is also very unique because the vertebrae in the neck are not fused together which allows them to turn their head or neck without moving the body. This is unusual in whales and dolphins.

The beluga is a toothed whale and has around 30-40 teeth. Their teeth are not very sharp and are used to capture prey, not chew them. Because their teeth are not sharp they use suction to capture and swallow prey. The different types of prey can include salmon, cod, halibut, and a variety of other fish. They are opportunistic feeders and have also been known to eat small octopus, crabs, shrimp, and other invertebrates.

Belugas have the nickname 'Canaries of the Sea' because of their methods of communication sound like a bird song. They are quite vocal and use a variety of songs, whistles, and clicks. Belugas, like all cetaceans, do not have vocal cords so their vocalizations come from manipulating the 2 air sacs near the blowhole.

These whales live in small pods ranging from a few individuals to over 20. They are highly social within their pods but individuals change pods frequently. Calves stay with their mothers to nurse for up to 2 years, and some will continue to remain part of the same pod. Females give birth every 1-3 years.

In the 18th and 19th centuries belugas were commercially hunted for their meat, blubber, and skin. Today they are still hunted by native peoples in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Russia. Russia is also known for capturing live belugas to sell to aquariums and theme parks. Their natural predators include orcas and polar bears. They are also sensitive to chemical and noise pollution - studies have suggested that populations closer to cities have higher rates of diseases like cancer and reproductive issues than arctic populations. Climate change will also have an impact on belugas and other arctic species as the oceans warm and ice continues to melt.

Belugas are not commonly seen in Iceland but are still occasionally spotted in the north of the country, when the whales come further south.

Whale of the Month - Humpback Whale

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:41:24 GMT

Our whale of the month for March is the humpback whale, which is the 14th whale you will encounter with our audio guide. Humpbacks usually live to be around 50 years old, though some individuals are thought to have been at least 100 years old. On average, males are between 12-14 meters and females between 13-15 meters.

Humpbacks are typically grey-black on the top and white on the bottom. Each humpback whale has a unique fluke pattern on its tail which can be used to identify an individual and record sightings. They have long, wide flippers and bumps across their head. These bumps are called tubercles and are actually hair follicles!

Humpback whales are baleen whales, meaning they use their baleen plates to filter-feed. They eat krill, copepods and smaller fish like herring, mackerel, and pollock. To catch their prey they have a variety of hunting techniques, and different groups of humpbacks have learned different methods! They are incredibly diverse in their techniques. One of their most famous methods is called bubble net feeding. A small group of whales swims in a circle beneath a school of fish, and use a combination of releasing air bubbles and sounds to herd the fish into the bubble net. Once the fish are in place, the whales swim together to take the fish into their mouths. The size of the bubble net can reach up to 30 meters in diameter!

Humpbacks are famous for their singing, which is typically done by males. We wrote a blog post about how humpback whales learn songs from each other earlier this month – you can read more about it and listen to their songs here . There are many different vocalizations that these whales use to communicate including grunts, snorts, and moans.

Humpbacks are usually solitary creatures but will occasionally travel in small groups for opportunistic feeding or along migratory routes. Female humpback whales breed every 2-3 years and have a gestation period of just under 1 year. Calves rely heavily on their mothers milk for at least the first year of their life, which has a fat content of up to 60%. This helps them to build their blubber layer up.

Historically, humpback whales have been hunted extensively. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial hunting of humpback whales in 1966. It is difficult to have an exact number of the population today, and estimates range from 40,000 – 80,000. On the bright side, according to a study just recently published in Royal Society Open Science (Oct. 16th,2019) the population of the South Atlantic humpback population has nearly recovered to pre-whaling numbers! We hope that other humpback populations will be as successful in their recovery.

Today humpback whales face threats from ship strikes and entanglement in nets and other gear, both of which have the potential to be fatal. In the future, global warming may have a heavy impact on their food sources. Humpback calves are targeted by orcas. Mother and calf humpback pairs have been recorded whispering to each other, likely to avoid detection by predators.

Interaction with other species of whales is common and humpbacks are usually quite friendly. They have been seen interacting with dolphins, right whales, blue whales, fin whales, minke whales, gray whales, and sperm whales. There have been records of humpback whales intervening to protect other species from orca attacks.

Humpback whales can be seen around Iceland. While they are most commonly here during the summer months, some individuals stay year-round. In January of2019, humpbacks were seen on 28 out of the 31 days from whale watching tours in Reykjavík! They are very popular with whale watching tours as they are quite curious and will approach boats – sometimes even doing some people watching of their own. Breaching, lunge feeding, fin slapping, spy hopping and diving are all incredible to see and are part of the reason this species is so popular with whale watching enthusiasts.

You can try your luck on a whale watching tour in Reykjavík by booking here .

Whale of the Month - Narwhal

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 11:41:23 GMT

Our whale of the month for February is the Narwhal! The Narwhal is the 5th whale you will encounter in the exhibition.

Narwhals typically have a mottled pattern, with blackish and brown markings on top of white skin. They do not have a dorsal fin, which allows them to swim under ice easily. Adult males average 4.6 meters (15 feet) and weigh around 3,500 lbs. Adult females average 4 meters (13 feet) and weigh around 2,000 lbs.

Narwhals, along with most toothed whales, use echolocation to communicate and hunt. They are also excellent deep divers with recorded dives of depths reaching 800 meters (over 2,600 feet)! Their primary food sources are halibut, cod, cuttlefish, and shrimp. Calves stay close to their mothers for at least a year, and narwhals often travel in groups of 20-30. Their average life expectancy is estimated to be around 50 years. They are most famous for their ivory tusk, which for centuries caused people to believe in the existence of unicorns.

Their tusk grows out from the mouth and into a spiral. The tusk has millions of nerve endings and pores, which helps them sense the environment around them. The tusk is typically found in males, but around 15% of females are estimated to have one. A tusk can grow up to 2.7 meters (9 feet) and weigh up to 10 kg (22 lbs). Individuals can have one, two, or no tusks.

The exact purpose of the tusk is still somewhat of a mystery. Some have speculated that it is used for fighting, mating, echolocation, breaking ice, or for hunting, though the tusk likely serves more than one purpose. Video footage from WWF Arctic Programme in 2017 has shown narwhals using their tusks to hunt fish. They use their tusks to hit the fish, temporarily stunning them and allowing the narwhal to catch and eat them. The tusk is the only tooth that a narwhal has – there are no other teeth inside the mouth, meaning they must swallow fish whole!

Major predators of narwhals include polar bears and orcas. Historically, narwhals have been hunted by humans for their tusks, skin, and meat. Certain Inuit tribes still hunt narwhals legally, but commercial whaling of the narwhal has significantly decreased. Another danger to narwhals can be sea ice. Narwhals can suffocate beneath the ice if they are not able to break through,and they are more vulnerable to attack as they try to escape from beneath the ice.

Narwhal sightings in Iceland are rare, though they do occasionally occur in the far north.

Do Whales Sleep?

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 11:41:22 GMT

The question of whether whales sleep or not is actually a very common one. Whales and dolphins are mammals and need sleep to survive, but they sleep very differently than humans and other land mammals.

Humans are unconscious breathers, meaning that our bodies will automatically breathe to take in air even when we are sleeping. Whales and dolphins are conscious breathers – they have to actively decide when to breathe, which can seem tricky for an animal that spends all of its time underwater!

Luckily whales and dolphins are well adapted to their lives underwater. While all whales sleep, it seems that different species have different sleeping requirements and methods. The amount of sleep and the way that they sleep can vary greatly between species – and since it is quite difficult to study their sleep in the wild, varying information has been reported.

There are a few more common sleeping positions: resting quietly in the water (horizontally or vertically), sleeping while swimming slowly next to another animal or in a group, or floating on the surface (often called logging). Dolphins in captivity have also been recorded sleeping for short periods of time at the bottom of their tanks. Humpback whales seem to be most often found resting motionless on the surface for increments of up to 30 minutes. They cannot sleep much longer than this without losing too much of their body temperature when inactive.

One of the more common assumptions across species is that whales sleep with half of their brain ‚shut down‘ and one eye closed. They are thought to do this in order to maintain an awareness of potential predators or problems around them, and to remember to breathe. This has been reported for several different types of dolphins, including bottle-nose dolphins. Dolphins can sleep for a couple of hours at a time, usually at night. One species was reported to sleep for approximately 33% of the day, where sperm whales are estimated to sleep for just 7% of the day!

Encounters with sperm whales also suggest that they enter a deeper sleep. A group of scientists accidentally came across a pod of sleeping sperm whales off the coast of Chile in 2008. Their boat engine was off and the team was below deck working on recording sperm whale calls, when they suddenly realized they had drifted directly into a pod of sleeping sperm whales. The whales did not notice until the boat accidentally nudged one of the whales, waking it up. Luckily the whales moved away and began sleeping again shortly after.

As you can see, we still have a lot to learn about the sleeping patterns, requirements, and behavior of whales and dolphins! Among the many questions remaining is: do whales dream? This we still don‘t know, but we‘re excited to see what future encounters and research reveals! Until then, we will keep dreaming about whales.

A pod of sperm whales sleeping below the surface.

Image: © Franco Banfi/Solent News & Photo Agency

Orcas - Apex Predator of the Oceans

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 11:41:21 GMT

Great white sharks have a reputation for being one of the most intimidating apex predators in the ocean, but recent studies indicate that even great whites are afraid of killer whales!

In 2009, Salvador Jorgensen and his colleagues at the Monterey Bay Aquarium tagged 17 great whites off the coast of California. Great white sharks typically feed on young elephant seals in the area. When a pod of orcas entered the surrounding waters the sharks disappeared, and within 8 hours all had vanished. Most of them did not return for the rest of the elephant seal season (September-December). If the orcas are just passing through the area and not stopping to hunt, the number of seals hunted can drop nearly 62%, allowing a larger population of young seals to survive the season.

This seemed strange so the researchers extended their search to look at data from 165 great whites tagged between 2006 and 2013. They discovered a pattern – when orcas entered the area, all of the sharks immediately fled. Some return after a few months and others will not return for up to 1 year, even when the orcas are just passing through the area. It is thought that the sharks can smell the approaching orcas, even if they are never close enough to actually see them.

Why are great white sharks so afraid of orcas? Interactions between the two typically do not end well for the shark. In 1997 the first recorded interaction between a great white and orcas was documented. Two orcas killed a great white shark and ate its liver. Removing the liver and leaving the rest of the body is quite consistent behavior for orcas. In 2017, 5 great whites washed ashore in South Africa with similar signs. The livers had been removed with incredible precision and orcas are believed the most likely culprit.

Orcas are highly intelligent and work in groups when they hunt. Their very presence, even when brief, can have a huge impact on the surrounding ecosystem. When the great white sharks flee and do not hunt in an area for up to a year, the numbers of their prey do not decline as they normally would, which affects other areas of the ecosystem in turn. It is always exciting and fascinating to learn more about the oceans and their inhabitants. It seems that orca whales can be considered the true apex predator of the ocean now!

This photo was taken by Federico Facchin on a whale watching tour with Special Tours .

Whale of the Month - Sperm Whale

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 11:41:18 GMT

Happy New Year, and welcome to our first monthly whale feature. We will start this series with the sperm whale, which is the 9th whale you will encounter with our audio guide.

The sperm whale is typically dark grey with white lips, and they have very large heads (25-35% of their total length). Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales, meaning they have teeth instead of baleen plates. There is a noticeable difference in size between males and females, with females averaging 11 meters in length and weighing 13.5 tonnes. Males are quite a bit larger, averaging 16 meters in length and weighing 44 tonnes.

Sperm whales use strong echolocation clicks to search for food and communicate with each other. It‘s believed that their clicks are strong enough to knock a human diver unconscious if the diver is close enough!

They regularly dive to depths of 500-1000 meters and remain underwater for 40 minutes at a time. Some individuals have been known to to dive more than 2000 meters for up to 2 hours, and they are believed to be able to dive to depths of over 3000 meters.

The main food sources for sperm whales are medium-large squid and fish. Many sperm whales bear scars along their body from battles with giant squid. Sperm whales around Iceland tend to hunt for bony fish more than squid.

Close family ties exist within groups, especially with the females. Males will form temporary groups with other males of a similar age, and older and larger males that have reached full maturity commonly separate from the groups to lead solitary lives. Only male sperm whales have been observed in Icelandic waters, as the females and calves tend to stay in temperate and equatorial waters.

The life expectancy of sperm whales is 60-70 years. It‘s quite difficult to make accurate stock assessments as they spend very little time at the surface and have a wide global distribution. Some estimates place the population at 360,000 individuals and others place them at 1.5-2 million, with an estimated population between 1 and 3 million before whaling began.

Today the only natural enemy of the sperm whale is the killer whale, which preys on calves and injured individuals. Sperm whales were hunted from around 1500 well into the 20th century, which decimated their numbers. Today the largest threats that sperm whales face is sound pollution and becoming entangled in the fishing nets.

Sperm whales can be seen off the west coast of Iceland and occasionally in the north. They are most commonly seen in late spring and summer (April-September).

Christmas at Whales of Iceland

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 11:41:17 GMT

Christmas has come to Whales of Iceland – our whales are feeling festive and celebration is in the air. One of the big Icelandic Christmas traditions involves the Yule Lads, the mischievous sons of the trolls Grýla and Leppalúði. Beginning on December 12th, they come into town from the mountains one by one, each leaving a small present in the shoes that children leave on windowsills.

We are excited to be celebrating Christmas with our 'Whale Lads' again this year, as they are helping us with our Christmas Treasure Hunt! A small package will be hidden in the exhibition each day from December 12th – December 24th . The lucky child who finds the package will get to exchange it for a real present with our staff. The package is hidden once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

You can read more about the Yule Lads here .

Keep your eye on our Facebook & Instagram to see our 'Whale Lads' as they appear!

Do Whales Have Hair?

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 11:41:16 GMT

When we think of whales, hair is not usually something that comes to mind – but most whales and dolphins have some hair when they are born, and certain species keep their hair throughout their life! Most whales have their hair follicles where land-mammals would have whiskers today.

The majority of baleen whales have hair follicles and some, like the humpback whale, still have visible hairs. The bumps on a humpback whale's head are called tubercles and each one contains a hair follicle with a single hair. If you're lucky enough to get close to a humpback you may be able to see them for yourself! The number of hairs that a whale has is small, typically ranging from 30-100 depending on the species.

Toothed whales usually have hair along their snout before they are born and lose them completely shortly after birth. There is one notable exception – the Amazon river dolphin, which has stiff hairs along its snout throughout its life. It is thought that they keep their whiskers to help them search for food in the muddy waters where they live.

It is not entirely clear why whales have hair. It could simply be left over from when their ancestors were land-based mammals. Other theories suggest that since there are many nerves around the hair follicles, they must be used to sense something (perhaps prey or changes in the water). The hair could also be used as a sensory tool to communicate with other whales, especially mothers and calves. There is no definite answer, but as marine research continues to expand and our knowledge grows you never know what discoveries will be made!

The tubercles, or hair follicles, are most visible on humpback whales.

Each bump contains a single hair.

A lucky passenger gets an up-close look at the tubercles on a humpback whale!

Research in Whale 'Whispers'

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:41:15 GMT

Both humpback whales and southern right whales communicate through a variety of vocalizations. Studies published in 2017 and 2019 show that these whales can also 'whisper', and that mother and calf pairs frequently do so in order to avoid detection.

In April of 2017, researchers published a study in Functional Ecology that touched on communication between humpback mothers and calves. The study showed that humpback mothers and calves communicated more during dives than when resting, and the communications were very quiet.

These vocalizations are difficult to hear beyond 100 meters, intentionally reducing the risk of discovery by predators or by male humpback whales that wished to mate and would separate the mother from her calf.

Humpback whales have a wide range of vocalizations, ranging from very loud to nearly a 'whisper'. They can produce vocalizations intended for a far-reaching audience, for an immediate group of multiple individuals, or for a more private communication between a mother and calf seeking to avoid other cetaceans.

In July of 2019, researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark published a study in the Journal of Experimental Biology that showed their findings on communication between mother and calf pairs of southern right whales.

They tagged 9 mother and calf pairs in Flinders Bay – a breeding and calving ground for the whales in Australia. Through these sound tags they recorded roughly 63 hours of communication and sounds from the whales.

The recordings showed that the mothers and calves called very rarely while they were diving, and the calls that were made were extremely quiet. It was impossible to hear these calls beyond a few hundred meters, making it very difficult for predators like orcas and sharks to locate the vulnerable calves. The whales also stayed very close to the shore in the waves. While more turbulent, the sound from the waves helps to mask the calls that the whales make to each other.

Most research on whale communication has focused on the loud calls, songs and other vocalizations that different species make when communicating. These new studies indicate that their communication is more complex and specialized than previously thought. Mothers take extra care to both communicate quietly, and impress the importance of this upon their calves who follow suit.

Photo credit: MartinEtsebeth

Listen to the recordings of the southern right whales here:

Humpback Whales: Migration & Song

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 11:41:13 GMT

A recent study published earlier this month in The Royal Society Open Science Journal detailed findings that show it is possible to tell where a whale has traveled based on the songs they sing. A humpback whale‘s song changes as they travel and encounter whales from other parts of the world, showing both geographical changes and social interaction. When whales migrate they meet at feeding grounds or along migratory routes, where new songs and information can be passed along.

This study focused on 52 humpback whales recorded in September and October of 2015 around the Kermadec islands,located in the South Pacific. These islands are a major crossroads along migratory paths for humpback whales. The recordings revealed 3 main song types.Type 1 songs were from the Central Pacific, Type 2 songs were from the Western Pacific and Type 3 songs were from around Eastern Australia. At the Kermadec islands there were two distinct versions of song Type 1, which have been labeled 1a and 1b, where different notes (or units) had been added.

Based on these recordings researchers were able to accurately place where the whales had originally come from. The findings were confirmed with genetic and photographic identification markers.The study indicates that song learning and transmission occurs in places where whales meet, and shows that whale migration can be traced through the songs that whales sing.

You can listen to the different types of songs below:

Guided Tours at Whales of Iceland

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 11:41:12 GMT

Whales of Iceland now offers daily live-guided tours for all ticket holders at no extra cost! These tours are 30-40 minutes long and are available in English.

Your guide will walk you through the exhibition, starting with the toothed whales and moving through the deep divers & rorquals through to the baleen whales. Your guide will provide in-depth information about the space and the different whale models. Take time to examine the real baleen plates & bones that we have on display and feel free to ask questions throughout the tour! You are also welcome to take photos throughout the exhibition, and a quiz sheet is available for children at the end (please notify your guide if you would like to have the quiz).

Your tour will also highlight the various threats (and their solutions) that whales face today, ending in our newest addition: The Fin Whale Room. You are also welcome to join the screening of Sonic Sea, shown twice every day.

After your tour you may want to grab one of our audio guides (available in 12+ languages) to go through and experience even more information in your native language.

To join a tour, please meet the tour guide at the entrance of Whales of Iceland just before the departure time & have your ticket ready.

We hope to see you on one of our tours soon!

Daily Tour Times: 11:00 & 15:00

Sonic Sea Screenings: 10:30, 12:15, 14:00, & 15:45

What Is a Whale Fall?

Mon, 22 Jul 2019 11:41:10 GMT

A whale fall occurs when the body of a cetacean falls to the ocean floor. This creates a complex and localized ecosystem for a huge variety of animals and other organisms. The depth of the ocean creates the perfect conditions for this, due to enormous pressure and cold temperatures which prevent the body from decomposing too quickly. A whale fall has three main stages of activity, and a single whale can provide shelter and food for microorganisms for decades.

The first phase occurs just after the fall, when scavengers locate the carcass. These mobile scavengers can include hagfish, ratfish, sharks, crabs, and amphipods. They feed off of the remains until they can no longer gain anything from it. This phase lasts for days or months, depending on the depth and the size of the body.

The second phase is known as the enrichment opportunist phase. Smaller animals like worms, mollusks, and a variety of crustaceans feed on organic material in the bones and leftover blubber. The nutrient-enriched sediment that surrounds the whale after it falls also makes a great place for these species to burrow. Many of these species appear to be unique to deep-sea whale falls. After a year or two the majority of the easily digestible organic material has been consumed. Sulfur-reducing bacteria can continue to feed on fats and oils inside of the whale bones, which gradually releases hydrogen sulfide. This provides the basis for the third and final stage.

The last stage is called the sulfophilic (sulfur-loving) stage. This stage can last decades – at least one whale fall community has lasted over 50 years. At this point, only the skeleton of the whale remains. Bacteria begins to break down fats and oils inside of the whale bones, creating sulfur in the process. This in turn attracts more bacteria to the whale fall, along with a large number of highly diverse and rare species including different mussels, snails, worms, and more.

The diversity of species that are found in the final stage is larger than any other known community on the deep seafloor. Up to 190 different species of macroscopic animals have been found on a single skeleton! Most of them have specifically adapted to make the most of whale-falls as a food source and substrate.

While it is always sad when a whale dies, it is an amazing and beautiful part of nature that allows it to provide life on an otherwise barren seafloor. There are so many species that depend on whale falls to thrive!

Grand Opening of the Fin Whale Room

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 11:41:08 GMT

We are proud to announce that last Thursday we had the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation, Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, open our new exhibit at Whales of Iceland - the Fin Whale Room.

We are very excited for this new exhibit, which focuses on conservation and the multiple threats (and their solutions) that whales face in the ocean with both informative and interactive experiences. The Fin Whale Room gets its name from the full-sized fin whale model hanging end-to-end from the ceiling. In this new space, amazing underwater footage of whales will be displayed on a LARGE screen, creating the feeling that guests are deep underwater.

Whales of Iceland is proud to be one of the largest exhibitions of its kind in the world, and now we are excited to grow even larger.

We look forward to welcoming you to a new and even larger Whales of Iceland - the room is now open to the public, so make sure you stop by and check it out!

Martyna Daniel, Director of Operations at Whales of Iceland

Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation

Patrick Ramage, Director of Marine Conservation - IFAW

Whales of Iceland – An International Welcome

Mon, 20 May 2019 11:41:07 GMT

The staff at Whales of Iceland is a fantastic team of people from all over the world. We are lucky to be working in such an international environment, and are always excited to welcome guests from all sorts of different places. We have staff members from Iceland, Japan, Sweden, the United States, Switzerland, Portugal, China and the Netherlands.

Our team has been busy translating and recording a huge variety of languages for our audio-guides. We are very proud to have our Whales of Iceland audio-guide available in over 10 languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Is your language missing from our list? Let us know! We are continually working to expand our audio-guides to make our exhibition more accessible to every visitor we welcome.

Gray Whale Migration

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 11:41:06 GMT

The gray whale has the longest known migration of any mammal in the world. They can travel an incredible 16,000-22,000 km round trip (10,000-13,700 miles) during their migration. With winter calving grounds in Mexico and summer feeding grounds in the Arctic, they average roughly 120 km (75 miles) per day with an average speed of 8 km/h (5 mph).

The gray whales start to arrive in the warm waters off the coast of Mexico in December-January. The lagoons provide protection for pregnant mothers to give birth and begin to raise their calves. The lagoons are also a place for single whales to find mates.

The first gray whales, usually males and females without calves, begin to leave in February and March. Females with calves are the last to leave, typically between March-May. They then begin the journey north to the icy waters of the Arctic in search of their main food source. Throughout their migration they typically stay relatively close to the shoreline, and are always keeping an eye out for potential threats. Orcas, or killer whales, are known to hunt gray whale calves.

Quick Facts

Lifespan: 55-70 years
Length: 13-15 meters
Weight: 15-33 tonnes
Gray whales are baleen whales, meaning they use baleen plates to filter-feed instead of teeth.

Photo credit: José Eugenio Gómez Rodríguez

Do Whales Exfoliate?

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 11:41:03 GMT

Bowhead whales are arctic/sub-arctic whales that live in icy northern waters and have blubber up to 50cm thick. During the summer months they can be spotted in slightly warmer waters – for example, if the waters of Cumberland Sound in Nunavut (North Eastern Canada, just west of Greenland). This might seem cold to us, but for bowhead whales it‘s a nice warmer change from their arctic environment.

Bowheads have been thought to be grooming, resting or hanging around rocks in areas like Nunavut by scientists, Inuit tribes and whalers from previous centuries. In 2012, an arctic exhibition encountered a large group of bowhead whales that left floating skin behind, indicating that molting had taken place. It was not until 2016 that this behavior was finally recorded by a research team from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Researchers saw bowhead whales exhibiting strange behaviors in these shallow waters, with individuals repeatedly surfacing, rolling, doing headstands and loudly vocalizing. When they sent a drone up to record footage it became obvious that the whales were using rocks in the shallow waters to remove skin – a nice way to exfoliate! Of the 81 individuals observed, 40% showed signs of ''rock rubbing'' to remove the skin. It‘s thought that this helps to remove skin damaged by the sun, as well as getting rid of algae, parasites and to help the whales regulate their temperature.

Bowhead whales are not alone in their love for exfoliating – beluga whales and orcas have also been seen rubbing themselves in shallow waters in gravel and mud. Research into these behaviors can help to define areas and habitats that may be crucial to the long-term survival of these species.

Click here to see a video of bowhead whales exfoliating, courtesy of Science Magazine.

All photo credits go to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

Deep Diving: Cuvier‘s Beaked Whales

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 11:41:04 GMT

Cuvier‘s beaked whales are the deepest and longest diving mammal in the world, with recorded dives of up to 2,992 meters deep and 2 hours, 17 minutes in duration. They are occasionally seen in offshore Icelandic waters, but are not as commonly spotted as other toothed whale species, such as orcas, sperm whales, white-beaked dolphins, and harbor porpoises. They have been difficult to study as they spend very little time at the surface between dives. A recent article published in February of this year in Royal Society Open Science discusses a study conducted at Duke University, which expands on our knowledge about this species and establishes a baseline for future studies on how these whales react to low levels of sonar.

This study reveals just how impressive Cuvier‘s beaked whales‘ diving abilities are. The average depths of their deep dives is 1,400 meters, though they can frequently go deeper. Each deep dive is typically followed by 3-4 shallow dives of roughly 300 meters, and they spend around 2 minutes at the surface in between dives. This is impressive not only because of the depths that they can travel, but also because they can withstand the great pressure changes at these depths. They are also capable of holding their breath for very long periods of time and need very little rest in between dives.

We are still not sure how they are able to do this, but with each study our knowledge expands. Hopefully future studies will reveal more information on how these impressive cetaceans are able to master the art of diving! It‘s very exciting to learn more and more about the amazing wildlife in the oceans!

Photo credit: Andrew J. Read

New Research Reveals Prehistoric Species

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 11:41:01 GMT

50 million years ago, the creatures that evolved into whales were land mammals who had a carnivorous diet. Around this time they began to enter the sea and eventually evolved to become the marine mammals that we know as whales today. The first whales were all toothed, meaning that they had teeth and used them to hunt their prey. At some point, some whales began evolving to develop baleen plates instead of teeth, allowing them to hunt for smaller prey (krill, copepods, etc.) This type of feeding behavior is called filter feeding, and is still used by baleen whales today. Two recent fossil discoveries have uncovered two new species in the chain of this evolution, expanding our understanding of whales and the timeline of the evolution between toothed and baleen whales.

The first, Maiabalaena nesbittae, was found in Oregon, USA in the 1970‘s. The second, Toipahautea waitaki, was discovered in New Zealand in 1988. Updated technology and research methods have allowed both fossils to be recently reexamined by scientists. These two fossils have been determined to be some of the earliest known members of the baleen whale family. This makes them some of the earliest known ancestors to the minke whale and humpback whale, both of which are commonly seen around Iceland. They are also relatives to the blue whale, fin whale, right whale, and bowhead whale, which can also be seen at times in Icelandic waters.

Toipahautea waitaki dates back to approximately 27.5 million years ago, according to the study published in the Royal Society Open Science journal. Prior to this discovery the earliest known relative of baleen whales was the Mystacodon selenensis (roughly 36 million years ago), but still had teeth. The Toipahautea waitaki is the first discovery with a long, toothless jaw, and the study indicates that it had baleen plates and was a filter-feeder. There has been speculation that during the evolution from toothed to baleen whales, there was an ‘gap period‘ where whales had neither teeth nor baleen plates. Maiabalaena nesbittae confirmed this, as they had neither teeth nor baleen plates. The study, published in Current Biology, indicates that they were suction feeders and had a retractable tongue, allowing it to suck up small fish and squid.

Maiabalaena nesbittae was roughly 15 feet in length, and the Toipahautea waitaki was roughly 19 feet in length (about half the size of a modern minke whale). While there are some whales today that have very few teeth (like the sperm whale, which can suck it‘s prey up without chewing), all whales today have either teeth or baleen plates. Modern baleen whales are still filter feeders, and different species utilize different methods of filter feeding to catch their prey. Some whales use the skim-feeding method, where they swim with their mouths open at the surface to engulf their prey. Others use gulp-feeding methods, where they take huge mouthfuls of water and then squeeze the water out, leaving their prey trapped in the baleen plates. Whales today have more specialized feeding methods, but the studies indicate that the earlier ancestors were less specialized and likely used a variety of feeding methods.

These findings are incredible,and give us a more accurate timeline of the evolution of baleen whale species.They also fill in a evolutionary gap, and we now know that baleen whales lost their teeth before developing baleen plates. We still know so little about the ocean and the animals that live and have lived in it. As we continue to encounter new discoveries and our research methods improve, our understanding of whale behavior and development continues to expand. Who knows what discoveries will be made in the future!

The photo is an artistic reconstruction of a mother and calf of Maiabalaena nesbittae. Photo credit: Alex Boersma

For more information, you can find the articles here:

Prehistoric Toothless Whale Among Oldest of Its Kind

Found: Missing Ling in Whale Evolutionary History

Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales

For more information on how modern baleen whales (like the humpback and minke whale) feed, check out this blog post from our friends at Special Tours: How do Humpback Whales and Minke Whales Feed?

North Atlantic Right Whale Spotted!

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 11:40:59 GMT

Last week something very special happened in Faxaflói Bay - a North Atlantic right whale was spotted by several of the whale watching companies here in Reykjavík!

The North Atlantic right whale is an incredibly rare species, with an estimated population of around 400 individuals. They are more commonly seen further south off the coasts of Canada and the Northeastern United States. It is very unusual to see them around Iceland, and there have only been 3 confirmed sightings of this whale over the last 30 years. The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life was able to positively identify this individual as Mogul, a ten-year-old male who was most recently seen off of the East Coast of the United States in April of this year.

Historically the North Atlantic right whale was a prime target for whalers as they are calm, slow-moving, feed at the surface and tend to stay close to the coastline. They also have a high blubber content that causes them to float when killed, and produces a lot of oil. They were called the ''right whale'' as whalers considered them to be the right kind of whale for an easy hunt.

Today this whale is endangered and is no longer hunted, but they still face a variety of threats. Two of the most critical threats to the North Atlantic right whale are ship strikes and becoming entangled in fishing gear. These whales migrate south to the coasts of Georgia and Florida togive birth, which takes them through some of the most heavily trafficked waters in the region. The whale is very slow, moving at speeds of roughly 16kph (10mph), which means that it is very difficult for them to avoid oncoming ships or navigate around fishing equipment. Other threats include noise pollution and climate change, which could make it more difficult for them to find the food needed to successfully reproduce and raise their young.

The North Atlantic right whale is easily distinguishable from other whales by the callosites, or calcified skin patches, on its head. These callosites often appear white because of large colonies of cyamids, or whale lice. The whales have a broad back without a dorsol fin, and a long mouth that begins above the eye. They are dark grey or black with occasional white patches along the stomach. You can see more photos of Mogul below, thanks to the guides at Special Tours.

We are so happy that people were able to witness this beautiful creature first-hand, and hope that Mogul continues on a safe journey!

North Atlantic Right Whale Facts:

Scientific name: Eubalaena glacialis
Average length: 13-16 meters/43-52 feet, and females are larger than males
Average weight: 40,000-70,000 kg/44-77 tons)
Lifespan: at least 50 years, possibly up to 100+ (little data available)
Feeding behavior: skimming (surface feeding) - slowly moving through areas of copepods, krill, or other small invertebrates. They are members of the baleen family, meaning they use baleen plates to filter feed.

Whales of Iceland & Special Tours: Statement Regarding Hvalur hf's Killing of a Rare Hybrid Whale

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 11:40:58 GMT

We at Whales of Iceland and Special Tours were deeply saddened to learn of the killing of a very rare hybrid whale - what has now been confirmed to be a cross between the endangered blue whale and a fin whale. We join the number of companies and organizations in condemning the whaling company Hvalur hf for this act. While the death of this hybrid whale is especially tragic, Whales of Iceland & Special Tours believe that all whaling is a senseless loss of life and we would like to see an end to whaling in Iceland.

Whales of Iceland and Special Tours have been at the forefront of the mission to end whaling in Iceland. We contributed to discussions that led to legislation that was passed extending the sanctuary around Faxaflói Bay last year. This has significantly reduced the number of minke whales killed here in Iceland, and will hopefully lead to the end of minke whaling as well. We have also been active participants in the ''Meet Us Don't Eat Us'' campaign, which encourages visitors to Iceland to choose whale-friendly restaurants and not contribute to the fading demand for whale meat. We love these beautiful creatures and strongly believe that further education, and the opportunity to see these magnificent beings in the wild, will help people to have a better understanding of the situation. It is important for the Icelandic government to realize that there is much more value in watching whales than allowing them to be hunted.

Both Special Tours and Whales of Iceland emphasize education, both for locals and foreign visitors alike. A common misconception for locals and tourists is that whaling has strong cultural roots in Iceland, which is not the case. The attitude towards whaling is slowly changing and we are doing our part to contribute to raising awareness. Education is an important step towards the end of whaling and we are fortunate to have seen progress, as the percentage of Icelanders are in favor of whaling has been steadily decreasing over the last several years.

Whales of Iceland and Special Tours recently participated in the first every Reykjavík Whale Day. This was to raise awareness for marine conservation and protection of these beautiful creatures, done in partnership with IceWhale, IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and other whale watching companies. Through our partnership with the Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, we have also contributed photos and data which helps in better understanding the lives of the whales, dolphins and porpoises we see on our tours.

What Can You Do to Help?

We understand and appreciate the outrage from our guests and friends from around the world after the killing of the hybrid whale earlier this month. However, we are saddened to hear that many people are choosing to boycott travel to Iceland. The actions of a single company, however despicable, should not affect global opinions of our beautiful country. Instead, we invite everyone to help us achieve our cause, of ending whaling and the consumption of whale meat in Iceland. Here are just a few ways to help:

Join the peaceful protest this week which will be held at the whaling station in Hvalfjörður, either this evening or tomorrow evening based on when the whaling boat returns to land.
When traveling to Iceland please make sure that your vacation is whale-friendly - please do not visit restaurants that sell whale meat, or businesses that support whaling.
When you do encounter a restaurant that sells whale meat, please contact info@icewhale.is to report it, as they keep track of whale-friendly restaurants. For more information on this, you can visit www.icewhale.is
Sign the petition by pledging to not eat whale meat, available online at www.ifaw.is

Whales of Iceland Updates - Parties, Partnerships & More!

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 11:40:57 GMT

Good morning friends! It's been a while since our last general update, and a lot has happened over the past year. Whales of Iceland is proud to welcome its new operations manager, Martyna Daniel. We are also happy to announce a partnership with Special Tours, our whale watching friends over in the Old Harbour. We have been welcoming many of their passengers to our exhibition.

So far in 2018 we have received two awards that we are very proud of. The first comes from Get Your Guide, where we received a Top Partner Award for 2018. The second comes from our friends over at The Reykjavík Grapevine, where we were voted Best Place to Take the Kids in 2018 - takk fyrir okkur!

We are definitely popular with families and children, and have been continuing our work with the city of Reykjavík to welcome kindergarden groups each week free of charge. We've welcomed over 3,000 students this year - roughly 4 classes each week! We love being able to share fun facts about the whales with the school groups and they are incredibly entertaining and energetic to have around.

Whales of Iceland has also embarked on a plastic-free mission. We are in the process of removing items from our gift shop and café that use plastic packaging to diminish our impact on the environment. They will be replaced with items that are fair trade, eco-friendly or even biodegradable.

We are pleased to be working with 4 Ocean, and are selling their bracelets in our gift shop. The proceeds from these bracelets go entirely to ocean cleanup. For each bracelet sold, one pound of plastic is removed from the ocean - can't go wrong there! We will also be working with Blue Ocean Watch to raise awareness and promote ocean conservation.

There have been several exciting events involving Whales of Iceland this year, including the ''Marine Sanctuaries - Transatlantic Perspectives & New Research in Icelandic Waters'' conference held in February. Here we listened to experts discuss the latest research on whales in Icelandic waters, marine sanctuaries and ocean protection going foward, and what this could mean for Iceland. We co-hosted a party with our friends at Special Tours and Reykjavík Röst this summer for all of our partners in the tourist industry - we had SO MUCH FUN! Thank you again to everyone who came out!

One of the events that we have been most excited for just happened - the first ever Reykjavík Whale Day was last Saturday.This is an event that we have spent a lot of time working towards and it has been fantastic to see it come to life. This was made possible through a collaboration between the City of Reykjavík. IFAW, IceWhale, The University of Iceland, Special Tours, Elding & Whale Safari. More information on the Reykjavík Whale Day can be found in our last blog.

We look forward to having a fantastic rest of the summer, with or without the sun. Stop by and see us sometime soon!

Reykjavík Whale Day - June 30th, 2018

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 11:40:54 GMT

We are very excited to announce that Whales of Iceland will be participating in the first ever Reykjavík Whale Day! This event is a collaboration between IFAW, IceWhale, Whales of Iceland, whale watching companies and other businesses in the Old Harbour of Reykjavík. Our aim is to promote awareness about the different types of whales found in Faxaflói Bay. We hope that this event will help to educate both locals and tourists alike, introducing them to the amazing wildlife that surrounds us.

We will start the day with an inauguration of the first of three whale signs, located on Eiðsgrandi. These signs feature the nine species of whales that are seen in Faxaflói. They will provide information on the whale's behavior, family structures, feeding habits and other fantastic facts about these gentle giants. These signs are made possible thanks to participation from the City of Reykjavík, IFAW, IceWhale, University of Iceland and Whales of Iceland. After introducing the sign we will have a breakfast reception in Oddsson.

Whales of Iceland will provide free entry into the exhibition from 10:00-13:00, so bring your family and friends! This is a perfect opportunity to learn more about the whales around Reykjavík and Iceland, and to see just how big these magnificent beings actually are when compared to us. There will also be a fluke coloring station for young and old alike to show off their artistic talents. We love the whales and are passionate about marine conservation and animal welfare - we hope that you will be as well after visiting our exhibition.

In the afternoon Special Tours will be offering a free cruise around the harbour area on their boat, Lilja. This one-hour tour will be guided in both Icelandic and English and is another great way to learn more about the whales and wildlife of Faxaflói Bay. A variety of restaurants and other companies in the harbour will also be providing discounts and special offers to celebrate the day.

We are so excited to continue to raise awareness about our friends in the sea - we hope to see you there!

Keiko and Iceland

Fri, 04 Aug 2017 11:40:53 GMT

KEIKO THE STAR OF THE FREE WILLY MOVIE WAS CAPTURED IN ICELAND IN 1979. IN 1998, HE WAS FLOWN BACK TO ICELAND AND A PLAN TO RETURN HIM TO THE WILD WAS SET TO ACTION AFTER HE HAD LIVED ALMOST HIS ENTIRE LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. KEIKO FINALLY DEPARTED ICELANDIC WATERS WITH WILD ORCA IN EARLY AUGUST 2002. HOWEVER, ABOUT THREE WEEKS LATER HE SHOWED UP IN NORWAY'S SKÅLVIK FJORD, APPARENTLY SEEKING CONTACT WITH HUMAN BEINGS AND ALLOWING CHILDREN TO RIDE ON HIS BACK.

KEIKO FAILED TO REINTEGRATE WITH WILD ORCA, BUT ON THE BASIS OF GIRTH MEASUREMENTS AND BLOOD TESTS, IT WAS ASSUMED THAT HE FED DURING HIS 900-MILE (1500 KM) JOURNEY TO NORWAY FROM ICELAND. KEIKO SWITCHED BETWEEN DIFFERENT GROUPS OF WILD KILLER WHALES, OFTEN REMAINING ON THE PERIPHERY, AT DISTANCES OF 100–300 METERS, WITH HIS HEAD POINTING TOWARD THE CLOSEST ORCA. KEIKO DIED IN NORWAY WHILE SWIMMING IN THE FJORDS ON DECEMBER 12, 2003, AT ABOUT 27 YEARS OF AGE.

KEIKO’S KEEPERS SAID THE WHALE SEEMED TO ADAPT TO LIVING IN THE WILD DESPITE SO MANY YEARS IN CAPTIVITY, LEARNING TO SLAP HIS TAIL AND DO JUMPS CALLED SIDE BREACHES THAT ARE TYPICALLY DONE TO STUN FISH.

BUT IT HAS BEEN REPORTED BY CRITICS THAT HIS RELEASE WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL, AS HE FAILED TO ADAPT TO LIFE IN THE WILD, DUE HIS EARLY AGE AT HIS CAPTURE, LONG HISTORY OF CAPTIVITY, PROLONGED LACK OF CONTACT WITH CONSPECIFICS, AND STRONG BONDS WITH HUMANS.

Which whale is the deepest diver?

info@whalesoficeland.is (Whales of Iceland) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 11:40:49 GMT

A Cuvier´s beaked whale is a deep diver, regularly diving to depths of 2,000 metres or more where they hunt and feed on squid, some fish and crustaceans. Group sizes are small (perhaps 2-7 animals), but lone animals are often seen. Cuvier´s beaked whale has been recorded to dive to a depth of 3km for over 2 hours. Little is known about the animal's social habits. Cuvier's do not bowride but will occasionally breach.

Sperm whales are also champion divers. Adults can stay underwater for almost two hours and dive to depths of 2,000 metres or more. They eat squid, which can live very deep in the ocean, so sperm whales have to dive down into the deepest parts of the sea to catch them.

The sperm whale is one of the deepest diving mammals in the world. Typically it makes dives of up to 400 m, but can reach depths of up to 2-3km. It is thought to be able to hold its breath for up to two hours, although 45 minutes is the average dive time. Some sperm whales have scars on their bodies caused by giant squid tentacles during fights. Although sperm whales are known to eat a wide variety of sea creatures their major prey items are deep-water squid which they are believed to 'catch' by the suction method of eating. Sperm whales can be quite gregarious and are known to breach, spyhop and lobtail. A sperm whale spends most of its life in either 'nursery schools' (adult females with young) or 'bachelor schools' (males between seven and 27 years of age) although older males tend to live on their own or in very small groups and join nursery schools during the breeding season. The only natural predator of the sperm whale is the orca and even then most attacks are not thought to be fatal. During such attacks however, the females show defensive behaviour of calves by creating a ring with the calves in the centre – called a 'marguerite'. These rings may have their heads or tails on the outside.‍

Reference:

http://uk.whales.org/whales-and-dolphins/facts-about-whales

Which is the most endangered whale?

info@whalesoficeland.is (Whales of Iceland) — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:40:51 GMT

The North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales are among the most endangered of all whales. Only around 400-500 individuals currently exist with fewer than 100 North Pacific right whales remaining.

The North-Atlantic right whale is mostly found along the Atlantic coast of North America, where it is threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and ship collisions. Some scientists believe these whales have already been extirpated from the eastern North Atlantic and now survive only on the east coast of the U.S. and Canada. Despite seven decades of protection efforts, no population growth has been observed.

Whereas groups of North Atlantic right whales once numbered in the hundreds in feeding grounds, nowadays they usually travel alone or in groups of 2-3 (sometimes up to about 12).

As with other mammals, right whale mothers and their calves display strong attachments, with the calf keeping in close contact with its mother by swimming up on her back or butting her with its head. Sometimes the mother may roll over to hold her calf with her flippers. Mating pairs are reported not to maintain long-term bonds.

Females breed about once every three to five years. Gestation is about one year and the single calf is nursed for nine to 12 months. Pregnant females migrate to an area off the coast of Georgia and Florida to give birth between December and March and then migrate north to their feeding grounds in the Bay of Fundy. Scientists are confident there is at least one other nursery area but have yet to discover it. Where these whales mate is also a mystery.

Reference:

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/right_whales/north_atlantic_right_whale/

How big is the calf of a blue whale?

info@whalesoficeland.is (Whales of Iceland) — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:40:48 GMT

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.Blue whales are pregnant for 10-12 months. The newborn calf is about 7.5 m long and weighs about 5.5 – 7.3 tonnes. A baby blue whale drinks about 225 litres (about enough to fill a bath) of its mother’s fat-laden milk (it is 40-50% fat) a day, gaining 3.7 kilograms an hour, until at age 8 months they are 15 m long and 22.5 tonnes! The mother and calf may stay together for a year or longer, until the calf is about 13 m long. Blue whales reach maturity at 10-15 years.

The Incredible Migration of the Humpback Whale

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 16:15:27 GMT

The humpback whale is one of the most common whales that can be found in Icelandic waters. In the early spring, generally in March, the humpbacks begin their long journey of approximately 7000 km (4600 miles) from the Gulf of Mexico to Iceland. The whales swim for about a month before they reach the southern coastal waters of Iceland. Most of the time, the whales do not traveling alone; females travel with their calves to the rich feeding grounds.

Their journey is not only long, it's also perilous. Despite their huge size, humpback whales are not safe from one of the world’s greatest predators; killer whales. The killer whales, or orcas, lurk in oceans around the world seeking out opportunities to feed themselves. If the killer whales find migrating humpback whales, particularly females and calves, they will try to separate the calf from its mother whereby it will become extremely vulnerable. If they succeed in separating a calf from its mother, killer whales, generally working together, will then try to drown the calf by biting, and pulling on the whale’s pectoral fins until it is exhausted. This chase can sometimes last for hours. In a final act, the killer whales will launch from the water onto the calf’s back, covering the whale’s blowhole, which suffocates them.By April, the humpbacks will finally reach Icelandic waters. They are hungry and thin after staying in tropical waters for months where they do not feed, but instead focus on breeding and nurturing their newborn calves in the realtively safe waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There is a reason they travel such great distances to Iceland: plentiful food.

The humpback whales found in the Atlantic Ocean have white flippers and are easily recognized as individuals by observing the patterns on their flukes, which are unique, similar to our fingerprints. Once in the North Atlantic, the whales will disperse throughout Icelandic waters. Some stay around the bays of the Reykjavik area, others prefer the south, and many swim up north to Eyjafjörður where they share the rich feeding grounds with blue whales.

For the next nine months, the humpbacks feast on krill, cod, sardines, and other schooling fish in the cold Icelandic waters. The waters around Eyjafjörður are so fertile that some whales will stay the whole year. Whale watching boats in Akureyri can sail out to meet these feeding giants in less than 30 minutes. To see these huge baleen whales prepare for a dive, jump and flap their fins surrounded by the subarctic Icelandic nature is an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime!

By the end of October and early November, most of the humpbacks whales are well fed and prepared for their seasonal migration back to the Gulf of Mexico. Their annual migration is one of the longest recorded journeys of all mammals.

References:

Humpback migration: http://www.hafro.is/undir.php?REFID=15&ID=210&REF=2

Photo credits (humpback whales): Whale Watching Hauganes

Great Recommendation from Iceland Unlimited Team

info@whalesoficeland.is (Whales of Iceland) — Sun, 16 Oct 2016 11:40:46 GMT

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Samstarf Hvalasafnsins og Whales of Iceland

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 11:40:44 GMT

Forsvarsmenn Hvalasafnsins á Húsavík og Whales of Iceland, Hvalasýningarinnar á Granda, skrifuðu í gær undir samstarfssamning á Vestnorden ferðakaupsráðstefnunni sem haldin er í Reykjavík. Samningurinn felur í sér að aðilar hans munu kynna söfn og sýningu hvors annars. Í því felst einkum að bæklingar og kynningarefni frá báðum aðilum verða aðgengilegir í Hvalasafninu á Húsavík og á Hvalassýningunni hjá Whales of Iceland í Reykjavík.Mikilvægasti hluti samstarfsins felst í afsláttarkjörum sem gilda gagnkvæmt fyrir viðskiptavini beggja samningsaðila frá og með árinu 2017. Þannig mun aðgöngumiði inná sýninguna í Reykjavík gilda sem 20% afsláttur inná safnið á Húsavík og öfugt. Nægilegt verður fyrir viðskiptavini að vísa fram aðgöngumiða frá öðrum hvorum aðilanum þessu til staðfestingar.Samningurinn er að mati beggja aðila jákvæður, auk þess sem samstarfssamningurinn er til hagsbóta fyrir viðskiptavini beggja aðila.

Um Hvalasafnið á Húsavík: Hvalasafnið á Húsavík var stofnað árið 1997. Safnið er sérhæft safn um hvali sem hefur þann megintilgang að stuðla að söfnun muna og sagna tengdum hvölum og hvalveiðum, skráningu þeirra og varðveislu. Auk þess er hlutverk þess að miðla fræðslu og upplýsingum um hvali og búsvæði þeirra á hagnýtan og áhugaverðan hátt og auðvelda þannig aðgang þjóðarinnar að slíkum upplýsingum. Með fræðslu um hvali og lífríki þeirra eykur Hvalasafnið einnig á fræðslugildi hvalaskoðunarferða sem farnar eru frá Húsavík og víðar. Fjöldi gesta á árinu 2016 stefnir í ríflega 35.000.

Um Whales of Iceland: Hvalasýningin, Whales of Iceland, var opnuð í febrúar árið 2015. Á sýningunni má finna manngerð líkön í raunstærð af þeim 23 hvalategundum sem hafa fundist í hafinu umhverfis Ísland ásamt ýmsum gagnvirkum fræðslustöðvum. Einnig er boðið upp á hljóðleiðsögn þar sem gestir fá fræðslu um hvalina á léttan og áhugaverðan hátt. Markmið Hvalasýningarinnar er að veita gestum innsýn inn í einstaka veröld hvalanna og tækifæri til að komast í snertingu við þennan heim sem er okkar annars svo dulinn.

Leikskólar frítt á þriðjudögum í vetur

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 11:40:43 GMT

Í framhaldi af þessu höfum við ákveðið að bjóða grunnskólum og framhaldsskólum á málþing um hvali í vetur. Auglýsing þess efnis verður birt á næstu dögum og er það m.a. samstarfsverkefni nokkra helstu fræðimanna landsins á hvölum. Ekki láta það fram hjá ykkur fara!

Eldri borgara morgnar á Hvalasýningunni

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 11:40:41 GMT

Hvalasýningin ætlar að bjóða upp á eldri borgara morgna í vetur.

Orca Guardians Iceland Launched

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 11:40:40 GMT

On the 28th of June, the organization “Orca Guardians Iceland” was launched.

Orca Guardians Iceland is the first Icelandic conservation nonprofit of its kind, dedicated specifically to the protection of orcas in the waters around Iceland. Orca Guardians Iceland unites international, national and local experts from a variety of fields (e.g., marine biology, environmental psychology, and tourism, to name only a few) in the effort of preventively protecting Icelandic orcas.

The research done is entirely non-invasive and includes the only orca ID project running all-year-round in Iceland and on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula (since 2014). The nonprofit values killer whales as individuals with unique character traits, and promotes respectful and mindful encounters with them. One of the conservation tasks is, therefore, to develop a species-specific code of conduct for killer whale encounters on the water. This code of conduct is developed in cooperation with IceWhale and will be promoted not only to whale watching companies, but also to private boaters and fishermen in known orca areas.

For people who would like to contribute and learn more about individual orcas that can be seen around West Iceland, there is a virtual adoption program on the website, where people can choose an orca and get to know “their” orca through pictures and a profile of the individual that comprises encounters during the last three years, and explains about group structures, travel patterns, and special behavioral observations.

You can find a lot more information at: www.orcaguardians.org

Nýjungar á Hvalasýningunni

Mon, 13 Jun 2016 11:40:37 GMT

Við erum alltaf að bæta við okkur nýjungum á Hvalasýninguna! Varstu búin að sjá að við merktum 3 hnúfubaka? Komdu og fylgdust með þeim synda um heiminn!

Celebrating 25 Years of Whale Watching in Iceland!

Tue, 07 Jun 2016 11:40:37 GMT

WDC/VICKI JAMES

Last night, WDC was delighted to host a packed event commemorating 25 years of whale watching in Iceland. The event was held at the Whales of Iceland exhibition in Reykjavik’s Old Harbour area, where, surrounded by lifesize models of the 23 species of whale and dolphin found in Iceland’s waters, guests from Iceland’s whale watching, research, conservation and tourism communities were welcomed by Ásbjörn Björgvinsson, long-time friend of WDC and the man who had the vision and the belief to help pioneer the concept of whale watching in Icelandic waters, back in the 1990s. Ásbjörn recalled the ridicule that greeted him and others when the idea was first mooted, but those early discussions and occasional trips led to a seminal workshop in 1995, organized by WDC, that led to the explosive growth in whale watching that has continued to this day.

MAX HOYT

Erich Hoyt, WDC Research Fellow and head of WDC’s Homes for Whales campaign, who helped lead that early workshop, then took the floor. Erich reminded the audience that the high quality of whale watching in Iceland over the past couple of decades has delivered many benefits, including research and education about Icelandic whales that reaches, currently 272,000 people a year, according to IceWhale, Iceland’s whale watching association. Erich reported that, since 2010, Icelandic whale watching is believed to have grown faster than anywhere else in the world, a rate of 20% average annual growth rate. An astonishing 1 in 5 tourists to Iceland now go whale watching. Several areas of Iceland, including Husavik, Grundarfjordur and Akureyri in the North and Reykjavik’s Old Harbour have literally been transformed by whale watching and associated businesses. But with success, of course, comes responsibility. Erich outlined the challenges for the future and introduced the concept of securing marine protected areas or reserves to protect “the stars of the show” that the whales have clearly become, in the hearts and minds of a growing number of Icelanders.

WDC/VICKI JAMES

Erich’s talk was followed by a lively panel discussion, led by Ásbjörn. Experts included Rannveig Grétarsdóttir of Elding/Whale Watching Akureyri; Magnús Kr. Guðmundsson of Special Tours, representing the whale watch community; Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson of Landvernd, the Icelandic Environment Association; and University of Iceland researchers, Marianne Rasmussen and Edda Elísabet Magnúsdóttir. Erich’s suggestion for a “Great Barrier Reef” approach to branding tourism, protecting the whales and their habitats, and linking land and sea was endorsed and amplified by everyone on the panel.

WDC/VICKI JAMES

The evening was rounded off by the presentation, by Landvernd’s Salome Hallfreðsdóttir, of Blue Flag awards to four qualifying whale watch companies: Ambassador, Elding, Special Tours and Whale Safari. This was, quite literally, a flagship event marking the first operators to be accredited under this scheme anywhere in the world!

WDC/VICKI JAMES

The evening celebration brought together friends and colleagues working for whales and their conservation across Iceland and beyond. Best of all, the evening delivered firm support for ongoing collaborations to push forward the ideas and initiatives discussed during the evening. There was passion in the room - we all got the feeling that a touchpaper has been lit – our job now is to keep up the momentum!

Our thanks and appreciation to our hosts at the Whales of Iceland exhibition and to all our guests for being part of this wonderful, energetic movement.

http://uk.whales.org/blog/2016/06/celebrating-25-years-of-whale-watching-in-iceland

From the Drawing station

Tue, 29 Mar 2016 11:40:36 GMT

Some pictures that our guests have drawn at our drawing station.

Breiðholtsskóli tók þátt í fræðsludagskrá Hvalasýningarinnar

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:40:33 GMT

Breiðholtskóli kom til okkar og tók þátt í fræðsludagskránni. Krakkarnir voru mjög vel undirbúin, með margar góðar spurningar. Þau voru að vinna að verkefni í skólanum og mjög áhugasöm. Eftir að hafa farið um sýninguna og fræðst um helstu hvalategundir í norðurhafi, skoðað hvalalíköninn hátt og látt, farið í leiki og gert tilraunir fóru þau með Rúnu líffræðing bakvið í fræðslusetrið og skoðuðu video af veiðum og atferli hvala, fengu að snerta bein, skíði og hvalaeyru. Heimsóknin var mjög góð og skemmtileg. Augljóst að áhugi kennara af námi nemenda sinna eykur áhuga krakkanna.

Hlíðarskóli tók þátt í fræðsludagskrá Hvalasýningarinnar

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:40:33 GMT

Hlíðarskóli kom til okkar og tók þátt í fræðsludagskránni. Við vitum fátt skemmtilegra en að taka á móti hóp sem er uppfullur af áhuga og spurningum og sú var rauninn með Hlíðarskóla. Hópurinn kom til okkar snemma um morguninn og hlustaði á þjóðsögur um hvali undir Steypireiðinni, því næst skiptum við okkur í tvo hópa, annar fór um sýninguna og fræddist um ýmsar hvalategundir sem lifa í norðurhafi, fóru í leiki og gerðu alskyns mælingar. Hinn hópurinn fór með Rúnu líffræðing inn í fræðslusetrið, horfði á fræðsluvideo um hvali og skoðaði bein, skíði og hvalaeyru. Frábær heimsókn.

Þjóðsagan í sjávarmyrkrinu

Hversu marga krakka þarf til að vera jafnstór og Steypireiðin?

Leikskólinn Marbakki

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:40:32 GMT

Leikskólinn Marbakki kom með krakka af deildinni Læk og tóku þátt í fræðsludagskrá Hvalasýningarinnar. Krakkarnir voru mjög áhugasamir og komu með skemmtilegar spurningar. Eftir að hafa fræðst um helstu tegundir hvala á norðurslóðum, farið í leiki sem auka skilning á hegðun og atferli hvala fóru þau bakvið í fræðslusetrið og skoðuðu skíði, bein og tennur. Því næst fóru þau í skapandi verkefni, mótuðu í leir, tennur og bein og lágu undir sléttbakinum og teiknuðu upp munstur á maga hans og sporði Hnúfubaksins. Skemmtileg heimsókn og fræðandi.

Suðurhlíðarskóli

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:40:31 GMT

Suðurhliðarskóli kom og tók þátt í skóladagskrá Hvalasýningarinnar. Eftir að hafa fræðst um helstu tegundir hvala í norðurhafi og skoðað líkön af þeim í fullri stærð, fóru þau með Rúnu líffræðing bakvið í fræðslusetrið þar sem bein, skíði og beinagrindur voru skoðaðar nánar. Krakkarnir voru ótrúlega áhugasamir og greinilega vel undirbúin fyrir heimsóknina. Þau héldu áfram með hvalaverkefni þegar þau komu í skólann og sendu okkur afraksturinn. Hér sjáið þið hann.

Hvaleyrarskóli & Landakotskóli

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 12:01:30 GMT

Hvaleyrarskóli

3 bekkur í Hvaleyrarskóla kom í heimsókn til okkar á Hvalasýninguna! Krakkarnir voru ótrúlega áhugasöm og fróð um hvali og við nutum þess að fá þau í heimsókn. Nýja kennsluherbergið okkar sló í gegn! Þar fengu krakkarnir að skoða bein og snerta módelin okkar og skoða myndafyrirlestur með Rúnu líffræðingnum okkar áður en þau fóru í leiðsögn með Marinó um safnið.

Landakotskóli

Landakotskóli kom í heimsókn með nokkra nemendur sína. Krakkarnir voru ótrúlega fróð um hvali og hafa verið að vinna með kennurum sínum hvalaverkefni í skólanum. Marinó leiðsögumaður þurfti virkilega að hafa fyrir því að fræða krakkana sem á köflum vissu líklega meira en hann um hvali! Þau ætla svo að senda okkur myndir af verkefninu sínu.