That‘s where they need our help. Keep an eye out for how you can support them very soon!

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Sources: wwf.org and hwdt.org/sei-whale
Images: 1. NOAA NMFS and 2. Edward Fuglø for Postverk Føroya, both public domain. 3. Christin Khan (NOAA), cropped, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sei are the third largest rorqual whale, and are blue-steely grey on top and white underneath – often with mottled skin.

⏱️ They're among the fastest cetaceans (recorded swimming at 55 km/h), but they can‘t out-swim threats like starvation, vessel strikes, fishing pollution, and climate change...

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Source: WDG
Pictures: 66-north & Derek Oyen via Unsplash; Krill, Balaenoptera physalus NOAA & Finhval via Wikimedia Commons

(6/7) Today, fin whales face growing threats from:

🦐 Industrial krill exploitation

🧊 Climate change and changing Antarctic habitats

🚢 Ship traffic and ocean disturbance

Species like the fin whale need protection! More on this soon…

(5/7)🌍 Fin whales are currently listed as Vulnerable (IUCN), with some populations already Endangered. Worldwide, fewer than 100,000 fin whales remain.

(4/7)🌊 In Antarctic waters, fin whales feed mainly on krill, along with small fish and crustaceans. Filtering seawater for hours each day, they can consume up to 1,800 kg of food. This makes healthy Antarctic krill populations essential for their survival.

(3/7)🔍 They’re easy to recognise by their unusual colouring: dark on top, white underneath and a unique asymmetrical jaw. The right lower jaw and baleen plates are white, while the left side is dark. Only one other whale species shares this trait.

(2/7)🐋 Fin whales can grow over 25 metres long, reach up to 100 years of age and weigh as much as 120,000 kg. But that’s not all: their long, sleek bodies allow them to travel at speeds of up to 45 km/h. Fin whales usually travel alone or in pairs, migrating with the seasons.

4/4 Stay tuned!

📸  Yadegar Asisi

3/4 dem Umweltbundesamt zu ANTARKTIS beitragen zu dürfen. Wie genau? Eins können wir schon verraten - es geht um eine Spezies, zu der wir kürzlich schonmal berichteten. 🙂 Wir würden uns riesig freuen, Euch dort anzutreffen. Mehr Infos, und eine Einladung, in ein paar Tagen.

2/4 Südpolarmeeres ist nicht nur für antarktische Ökosysteme und das globale Klima immens wichtig, sondern auch für uns Menschen - denn sie produziert unter anderem den Sauerstoff, den wir einatmen (Phytoplankton).

Wir freuen uns sehr, in kürze in Zusammearbeit mit

Let’s protect the #humpbacks and make sure their numbers continue to rise! For more on how you can help, stay tuned…

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Sources: marinemammalcentre.org and wwfwhales.org

Humpbacks nearly went extinct in the 1960’s due to #whaling, but conservation efforts have brought their numbers back up. However, they face threats now from:

🐟 Industrial krill fishing

🧊 #ClimateChange and habitat degradation

🚢 Boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear

🦐 Like the blue and minke whales, humpbacks rely on #krill for food, although they do also consume small fish.

Humpbacks are large and recognisable with their big, white fins and knobbly-bumped heads. They’re called ‘humpbacks’ because of the distinctive humped shape of their backs when they dive.

Did you know that humpbacks are record-setting migrators? One male humpback was recorded migrating 8000 miles across three ocean areas!

(5/5) Let’s protect the Antarctic minke whale and their food! For more on how you can help, stay tuned…

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Sources: Whale and Dolphin Conservation UK; Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science

(4/5) It’s current biggest threats are:

🧊 Climate change

🐟 Industrial krill fishing

🛢️ Pollution and noise disturbance

🚢 Boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear

☠️ Whaling (Antarctic minke whales were targeted historically)

(3/5) As its name gives away the Antarctic minke spends most of its time in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, preferably cruising the open waters alone or in groups of two or three.

🦐 Their favorite food is krill! They eat an estimated amount of 83-325 kg per day in feeding season (summer).