The fin whale is the second-biggest animal living on Earth; only the blue whale is bigger. This creature swims with others of its kind in groups that work together to find food and stay safe from enemies. Though huge, this monstrous animal feeds on some of the tiniest sea animals, and it swallows a couple tons per day. If challenged by a predator, the whale can zoom off, or even stay and fight with blows from its massive tail.
Gulp! Though the fin whale tips the scales at 200,000 pounds, this aquatic mammal eats tiny prey-shrimp-like animals called krill. The whale can gulp down up to 4,000 pounds of krill per day, which equals about 1.5 million krill!
Spit it Out: This beast eats by taking in mouthfuls of seawater in the expandable pouch in its lower jaw, then forcing the water back out. Krill become caught between the long plates hanging from its upper jaw, called baleen, and the whale then swallows the catch.
Zoom Zoom[]
This mammal's fin cuts through the water as is reaches speeds of 30 miles per hour.
The fin whale isn't a fish, but it's still a champion swimmer in the sea. Its body is slimmer than that of many other whales, and its head slopes down to a narrow snout. This makes the whale very streamlined so it can cut through water with less resistance than other whales. At full speed, the fin whale can swim at 30 miles per hour. It usually goes this fast only when trying to escape from potential predators, which are mainly big sharks. Normally, the whale swims at a leisurely six miles per hour.
Backlash: If a predator catches up to a fin whale, it may be in for a nasty surprise. The whale has only one real defense, but it's a good one. Its tail can smash into enemies with a force of 500 horsepower; that can kill a big shark in a single blow.
Over Here! The whale finds much of its food at the surface, but can dive down to depths of 750 feet to feed on crustaceans. A fin whale will alert others in its group where food is through a series of chirps and whistles.
Teamwork[]
- Three fin whales get together to grab some food, instinctively working as a team to ensure each will get its fill. The whales find a large school of fish, and swim circles around it to herd the fish into a tight space.
- Once the fish are clumped together, each of the fin whales takes its turn swimming through the tightly-packed school with their mouths open and swallowing several hundred fish at a time.
Trivia[]
- The multi-paneled illustration on the back, "Teamwork" is also used in the Wildlife Explorer series. Here, titled "Right Side Feeding", there are two new images- a first image of the whales underwater circling, and a final closeup of one of the whales eating.
- They are sometimes called Finback Whales.