may be
confused with sei whales, minke whales and even fin
whales. However there is one important difference, Bryde's
whales have three parallel ridges on their heads where
the others have only two. Their slender bodies are smoky
grey in colour which may seem brown in some lights.
They are often mottled and slightly scarred and their
undersides (bellies) are light purple, grey-blue or
creamy-grey. Bryde's whales have between 40 and 70 throat
pleats which allow their mouths to expand when they
are feeding. Their dorsal fins are erect and hooked,
with a pointed tip, their tail flukes are broad with
a distinct middle notch, and their flippers are slender
and relatively short, approximately one tenth of their
body length. Offshore Bryde's whales are larger than
those that live near the coast and have larger baleen
and more scars too.
