Common Bryde’s whale, Eden’s whale, Pygmy Bryde’s whale, Tropical whale, Brooder's complex
Bryde's whale ( BRUU-dəz Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. The common Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei, Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and the Sittang or Eden's whale (B. edeni, Anderson, 1879) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the Indo-Pacific. Also, a smaller, coastal form of B. brydei is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale. The recently described Omura's whale (B. omurai, Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. Rice's whale (B. ricei ), which makes its home solely in the Gulf of Mexico, was once considered a distinct population of Bryde's whale, but in 2021 it was described as a separate species.
B. brydei gets its specific and common name from Johan Bryde, Norwegian consul to South Africa, who helped establish the first modern whaling station in the country, while B. edeni gets its specific and common names from Sir Ashley Eden, former High Commissioner of Burma (Myanmar). Sittang whale refers to the type locality of the species.
Ca
CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
Aq
AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
Mi
MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withBryde's (pronounced "broodus") whales belong to the family of baleen whales and are regarded as one of the rorquals or "great whales". They are dark gray in color with a cream belly. The bodies are very sleek and they have a close resemblance to the sei whale. Bryde’s whales have one more ridge in front of their blowholes than the sei whale's two. They have a double row of baleen plates. The head and the eyes are very large. The dorsal fin is positioned far down the back. Their flippers are small and thin.
Bryde’s whales inhabit sub-tropical and tropical waters throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, preferring warm oceanic waters, in temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees C. They are pelagic and coastal creatures that generally follow their food sources.
The Bryde's whale usually chooses to feed alone, except for mothers and calves, who often feed together. Individuals living close to the shore may feed in groups of 15 or fewer, while those off-shore may be in groups that number up to 30. Bryde’s whales are one of the livelier species of rorqual, frequently breaching right out of the water and often making dives of one to two minutes to depths of 300 meters. Patterns of migration vary, with populations in coastal tropical waters appearing to stay in the same location for the year, while populations in subtropical waters will make limited migrations, depending on movements of prey. These whales can be very vocal while communicating with each other. They often make moaning sounds.
Inshore groups prefer fish: anchovies, sardines, herring and mackerel, while offshore groups eat the krill of genus Euphausia and copepods, as well as cuttlefish, squid, and octopi.
There is not much information about the mating habits of Bryde's whales, though they probably are similar to other related cetaceans. Bryde’s whales in tropical waters may breed throughout the whole year, while in sub-tropical seas breeding mainly takes place in autumn. Gestation lasts 11 to 12 months. Mothers produce one calf per mating season, and they nurse their calf for 6 months. After weaning, the mother leaves her calf to look after itself. Bryde's whales are sexually mature at the age of 10 to 13 years.
Bryde's whales face human threats in the form of colliding with large ships that are travelling in the same area. Chemical pollution is also a threat, as well as underwater sounds and noise caused by humans, as these whales, like all baleens, communicate with each other by means of low-frequency sounds.
According to Wikipedia, the population of Bryde’s whales may include up to 90,000–100,000 animals worldwide, with two-thirds inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere. The Bryde’s whale is currently classified as Data Deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
