City Cruises Dolphin Watching Adventure Cruises highlight baleen whales in San Diego, especially Gray Whales and Blue Whales, which seasonally travel along the San Diego coastline. This page features Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, and Fin Whales that are also commonly spotted during these whale watch cruises.
All whales are cetaceans— a group of marine mammals that includes all dolphins, porpoises, and whales. Cetaceans have a single or double blowhole (nostril/s) on top of their head, two front flippers, and tail flukes that they move up and down to swim through the water.
Baleen whales are in the Scientific Order Mysticeti. Unlike toothed whales, baleen whales have a double blowhole and rows of baleen hanging down from each side of their upper jaw. These whales use their baleen for filtering tiny, clustered prey from the water. Baleen whales also tend to be much larger than toothed whales.
Visit our Gray Whale Page and Blue Whale Page to discover more about these two species. Below, you can learn about some of the other baleen whale species you may see during a City Cruises whale watch cruise.
La vostra avventura di avvistamento delle balene inizia oggi con City Cruises San Diego
Quando visitate l'area di San Diego, approfittate dell'opportunità unica di assistere alla maestosa bellezza delle balene grigie, delle balenottere azzurre e dei leoni marini nel loro habitat naturale con una Whale & Dolphin Watching Adventure. Che siate appassionati di natura, di fotografia o semplicemente alla ricerca di un'uscita memorabile, una crociera lungo la costa di San Diego offre un mix perfetto di emozioni ed educazione. Unitevi a City Cruises San Diego ed esplorate la migliore crociera per l'osservazione dei leoni marini e delle balene nell'area di Los Angeles e scoprite ciò di cui tutti parlano in questa incredibile avventura oceanica.
Megattera
Megaptera novaeangliae
DESCRIZIONE:
These graceful baleen whales are mostly dark gray to dark brown with varying amounts of white on their flippers, flukes, and belly. They have long, wing-like flippers and a small, irregularly-shaped dorsal fin. Adults are about as long as a school bus or up to 50 feet long (15.2 meters) and weigh up to 40 tons (36,287 kilograms). Females grow larger than males.
AREALE E HABITAT:
Le megattere sono presenti in tutti gli oceani del mondo.
DIETA:
Humpback whales are carnivores—they only eat meat. They strain large amounts of tiny clustered prey, including krill (a shrimp-like crustacean), small schooling fish, pelagic or swimming crabs, and squid out of the water using their baleen.
RIPRODUZIONE:
Le femmine danno alla luce un solo vitello (piccolo), che viene allattato per circa un anno.
COMPORTAMENTO:
Le megattere si trovano singolarmente oppure viaggiano o si nutrono in gruppi di 2 o più individui. Le megattere sono tra le balene più acrobatiche e spesso effettuano fluke (sollevare le pinne fuori dall'acqua prima di immergersi), breach, spyhop, flipper slap e lobtail/ tailslap.
PREDATORI:
Orcas/ killer whales are the only natural predators of humpbacks
The markings on the underside of a humpback’s flukes are as individual as a fingerprint. Researchers use photos of the flukes to catalog and identify humpbacks in a population. Humpbacks often feed by lunging for food at the surface or underwater. Another exciting method these great whales use to feed is bubble netting, where one humpback surrounds a school of fish with a net of bubbles that it releases from their blowholes. Then several whales surface through the trapped fish with their mouths wide open.
Balenottera
Balaenoptera physalus
DESCRIZIONE:
Fin whales are long and sleek with a V-shaped head. They are mostly gray with a white belly. They have a pronounced, falcate (curved back) dorsal fin. Adults are about as long as 2 school buses or up to 85 feet long (26 meters) and weigh up to 80 tons (72,575 kilograms). Females grow larger than males.
AREALE E HABITAT:
Le balenottere sono presenti in tutti gli oceani del mondo.
DIETA:
Le balene sono carnivore: sinutrono solo di carne. Usano i loro fanoni per estrarre dall'acqua grandi quantità di piccole prede ammassate, tra cui il krill (un crostaceo simile al gambero), piccoli pesci in banco e calamari.
RIPRODUZIONE:
Le femmine danno alla luce un solo vitello (piccolo), che viene allattato per circa un anno.
COMPORTAMENTO:
Le balenottere si trovano singolarmente oppure viaggiano o si nutrono in gruppi di 2 o più balenottere o altre specie di balenottere. Raramente si scagliano o fanno breccia. Occasionalmente, vengono avvistate mentre si alimentano a gomito sulla superficie dell'acqua.
PREDATORI:
Orcas/ killer whales are the only natural predators of fin whales .Fin whales have asymmetrical coloration. The right side of their jaw is white, while the left side is dark. The abrupt contrast between the dark and light parts of the fin whale’s right jaw may startle prey into a tighter cluster when the whale hunts. Fin whales are nicknamed the “greyhounds of the sea” and can reach speeds of 23 mph (37 kph) for short bursts of time.
Balena Minke
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
DESCRIZIONE:
These small, baleen whales are sleek with a V-shaped head. They are mostly black with light chevron-shaped gray markings and a white belly and a white band on each flipper. They also have a pronounced, falcate (curved back) dorsal fin. Adults are about 26 to 33 feet (8 to 10 meters) long and weigh up to 10 tons (9,072 kilograms). Females grow larger than males.
AREALE E HABITAT:
Le balene minke sono presenti in tutti gli oceani del mondo, anche se sono rare ai tropici.
DIETA:
Minke whales are carnivores—they only eat meat. They use their baleen to strain large amounts of tiny clustered prey including krill (a shrimp-like crustacean) and small schooling fishes, out of the water.
RIPRODUZIONE:
Le femmine partoriscono un solo vitello (piccolo), che viene allattato per circa 6 mesi.
COMPORTAMENTO:
Minke whales are usually found by themselves, but occasionally travel in small groups of 2 to 6 whales. Occasionall,y they are seen in small groups of up to 4 whales. Some minkes are curious and will approach boats while others can be shy and difficult to spot. Minke whales occasionally breach.
PREDATORI:
Orcas/ killer whales are the only natural predator of minke whales. The white bands on the minke whale’s flippers are called “minke mittens”. These minke mittens may be used to startle and concentrate prey while the whale is hunting.
Divertitevi come matti con le crociere urbane a San Diego
Prenotate un tour di whale watching per vedere le balene Baleen a San Diego! Visioni ravvicinate e momenti educativi con capitani esperti e naturalisti volontari del Museo di Storia Naturale di San Diego. Godetevi lo yacht più confortevole di San Diego per l'osservazione delle balene nell'oceano aperto. Cliccate qui per i suggerimenti utili per l'osservazione delle balene e le domande più frequenti.
Data di pubblicazione originale: 6 marzo 2019