The second-largest whale species on earth, was spotted in Puget Sound last week. The fin whale is second in size only to the blue whale. According to the Orca Network, the mammal was spotted foraging near the shoreline of beaches in North Seattle. 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-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the blue whale.
“Experts have confirmed that the mystery whale in Puget Sound last week was indeed a fin whale,” the association said on Facebook. “Fin whales are second to the blue whale as the longest whales on Earth.”
The fin whale spent a week near Seattle’s northern shoreline, according to Orca Network, a nonprofit dedicated to the Pacific Northwest’s whale population. “To have such an impressively large and gorgeous being spend time this far inland in our urban waterways is a rare gift,” the group said on Facebook. “These encounters were deeply moving experiences.”
Fin whales can be found all over the world’s oceans. Most at home in the deep, open ocean, they prefer cooler waters and are rarely found in tropical waters. Like other large whales, fin whales are thought to migrate between feeding and breeding grounds. That said, resident populations do exist, and both the Gulf of California in Mexico and the Mediterranean are home to resident populations of fin whales.
The fin whale is listed as an endangered species and is also considered depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to NOAA. “It may still be around, so keep those eyes peeled,” the Pacific Whale Watch Association said of this particular fin whale.
