Antarctica - Whales Whales Whales

Danny Catt — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:32:08 -0700

Humpback Whales, Gerlache Strait, Antarctica

On our last day in Antarctica we were treated to an amazing opportunity to view and see some of the Humpback Whales that migrate to Antarctic waters to feast on the abundant krill. There are a variety of whales that make their way down to the far southern waters along the edge of the Antarctic ice including Minke, Sei, Fin and even the mighty Blue Whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on the planet. All of these species are what are called baleen whales. This means that rather than having teeth, they have baleen plates (made of the same material as your finger nails, keratin) that they use to sieve out the krill that forms a huge part (almost exclusive for some species) of their diet.

Humpback Whale Tail (also known as a Fluke)

It is said that a Blue Whale can consume up to 4,500 kilograms of krill in one day! And someone (I don't know who) has suggested that the baleen whales consume about 27 billion kilograms of krill each year! Wow!

Humpback Whale, Gerlache Strait

The other group of whales are the toothed whales. Examples of these include the sperm whale (the largest of the toothed whales) as well as the Orca or Killer Whale. It should be noted though that Orcas are in fact the largest member of the dolphin family although we don't call them dolphins.We saw Orcas twice during our trip but on both occassions we saw them briefly and then they were gone.

Orca, Antarctica

Catt-Trax 2 - Krill

Antarctica - Whales Whales Whales