Fin Whale
High risk of endangerment in the wild
Vagrant
The fin whale, also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-largest species on Earth after the blue whale. The largest reportedly grow to 27.3 m (89.6 ft) long with a maximum confirmed length of 25.9 m (85 ft), a maximum recorded weight of nearly 74 tonnes, and a maximum estimated weight of around 114 tonnes. American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound of the sea ... for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship."
- Range depth
- 200 to 250 m
- Average mass
- 70,000 kg
- Average mass
- 7e+07 g
- Range length
- 19 to 27 m
- Average length
- 24 m
- Breeding interval
- Fin whales breed every 2 to 3 years.
- Breeding season
- Breeding occurs from November to January in the northern hemisphere and June to September in the southern hemisphere.
- Range number of offspring
- 1 to 1
- Average number of offspring
- 1
- Range gestation period
- 11 to 12 months
- Range weaning age
- 6 to 7 months
- Range time to independence
- 6 to 8 months
- Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
- 4 to 8 years
- Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
- 7.7 years
- Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
- 4 to 8 years
- Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
- 6.7 years
- Range lifespan
Status: wild - 95 (high) years
- Average lifespan
Status: wild - 75 years
- Average lifespan
Status: wild - 75 years
- Average lifespan
Status: wild - 114.0 years
- Average lifespan
Status: wild - 116.0 years
- Average territory size
- >2000 km^2
Mahalingam, P. and M. Silberstein 2010. "Balaenoptera physalus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 10, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Balaenoptera_physalus/
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