Bryde's Whale

Bryde's whale is a rorqual, a baleen whale of warm temperate and tropical seas, and the name covers a complex of closely related forms whose number and classification remain unsettled for lack of definitive research. The common Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei) is a larger form found worldwide, while the Sittang or Eden's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the Indo-Pacific. Omura's whale and Rice's whale were once counted within the complex but are now recognised as separate species. The name honours Johan Bryde, a Norwegian consul in South Africa who helped establish the first modern whaling station in that country. Bryde's whales feed on a wide variety of fish, planktonic crustaceans and cephalopods, usually appear alone or in pairs, and can live past seventy years. The IUCN lists Balaenoptera edeni as least concern, and the whales appear on CITES Appendix I.