Rorquals

All 4 species of rorquals on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 115 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• Its skull has particular acoustic properties that channel low-frequency sound straight to the ear bones, a hearing mechanism uncovered through three-dimensional computer modelling.

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• Unlike most rorquals it makes no great seasonal migration to the poles, staying all year in warm and temperate water.

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• It is the only large rorqual that does not migrate: it lives all year in warm water, and can therefore breed in any season rather than following the rigid calendar of its polar relatives.

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• It has three parallel ridges on its rostrum, while all other rorquals have just one: it is the feature that allows it to be identified with certainty at sea.

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• It is one of the fastest whales known and can reach remarkably high speeds over short distances, quite against the popular image of whales as slow animals.

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• It is the fastest of the great cetaceans: it can hold more than 50 kilometres an hour over a short burst, a dolphin's speed in a twenty-tonne animal.

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• Unlike its relatives, which gulp down enormous mouthfuls of water, it feeds by swimming on its side at the surface with its mouth ajar, straining plankton continuously as the right whales do.

Ecosystems