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Bryde’s Whales

Another species named after one of its most notable hunter, the Bryde’s Whale derives its name from Norwegian whaler, Johan Bryde

Like other species that are named for those who were involved one way or another in killing them, the Bryde’s Whale derives its name from Norwegian whaler, Johan Bryde. Together with Norway’s consul to South Africa, Bryde raised funds in Norway to build the first whaling factory in the port city of Durban in 1908. Bryde (pronounced brood-eh) was the first to identify the whale as a separate species. Until then, it had been mistaken for a sei whale.

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Information about Bryde’s Whales

A rorqual baleen species, the Byde’s whale resembles the sei in many ways. Though slightly smaller in stature, it grows to fifty-five feet and weighs as much as forty-five tons. Its body is dark bluish-gray to black with a white underside. Any white spots are scars. Numbering from forty to seventy, the Bryde’s lighter colored ventral pleats may be cream to purple hued. The whale’s distinctive head comprises a quarter of its body and has three ridges. Its jaw contains 250 to 350 pairs of sixteen-inch long baleen plates. Though the sei and Bryde’s whale both have a curved dorsal fin, the sei’s is taller. The Bryde’s bushy blow sprays twelve feet. The sound of the Bryde’s whale is a low moan.

Bryde’s whales travel solo or in pairs, though visitors on Galapagos Islands cruises may see the species in larger groups when feeding. The species subsists on a diet of mostly small fish including anchovies and herring, and can dive up to 1,000 feet, staying down for five to fifteen minutes. Though it usually travels three to four miles per hour, when necessary, the Bryde’s whale can swim more than three times that fast. Bryde’s whales reach maturity by eight years old and have a lifespan of fifty to seventy years. The female gives birth after a gestation of twelve months, and calves are weaned in six to twelve months. Bryde’s whales breed every other year.

Like the sei, Bryde’s whales prefer warmer weather than most whale species, inhabiting tropical, subtropical and warm temperate waters in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They are a frequent sight on Galapagos Island cruises and Costa Rica tours. Some but not all Bryde’s whales migrate in the winter. The species stays near shore most of the time.

The Bryde’s whale received international protection in 1972. Most of the world’s 90,000 Bryde’s whales are found in the Northern Hemisphere. The International Whaling Commission does not have an accurate count of Bryde’s in the Southern Hemisphere.

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