Bryde's Whale

Balaenoptera edeni

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetartiodactyla
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Species: Balaenoptera edeni

Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) is a medium-sized rorqual of warm waters, growing to about 15 m, with a dark grey back, a tall hooked dorsal fin and three distinctive parallel ridges running along the top of its head.

Unlike many baleen whales it does not make long seasonal migrations, staying in tropical and subtropical seas year-round. It feeds on schooling fish such as sardines and anchovies, often lunging at the surface beside feeding seabirds.

In the Philippines Bryde's whales are recorded in several deep basins, including the Bohol Sea and Sulu Sea, and are among the more frequently reported large whales in the country. Sightings come mostly from offshore boat trips.

Photo: Ian Dugdale, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist