Meeting with a whale in the open sea the dream of many sailors and lovers of sea walks. Then they tell friends about her for a long time, show photos and videos of such meetings. Why do they cause so many emotions? Many types of whales have become rare. Even less often manages to meet them. The uncontrolled fishing of these animals, large sizes, their low birth rate led many of them to partial or complete extinction. Therefore, it is more and more often to meet the Finval is easier on the pages of the Red Book than in the sea.
Description and appearance
One of the vulnerable species of whales is the northern Finval or, in another way, herring whale. It is a mammalian detachment of whaling. Finval, along with the blue and humpback whale, is attributed to the family of stripes. Often blue and herring whale form mixed species. Such hybrids are found in the northern parts of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
The finval compared to other species has a slender body 18-27 m in length depending on the habitat. The head is small. Body weight is 40-70 t. Females of this species are larger than males, with the same body weight. Kit has a high dorsal fin. It is located in the extreme quarter of the body. Whale mustache has a height of 70 to 90 cm. Each half of the jaw has from 260 to 470 plates.
Chinese color has two tones. The back is dark gray or dark brown, and the abdominal part is white. There are light gray spots on the back of the back. There are skin folds on the belly in the amount of 56-114 pieces.
Distribution and lifestyle
Finval is present in all oceans. Is a Pelagic organism, as it lives in the thickness and on the surface of the water. He prefers to avoid coastal zones. The northern Finval in the summer migrates in the cold areas of the Arctic. Here, the whale mines food, runs the mass before the wedding season. In winter, it goes to subtropics and the latitude of the temperate climate for mating and reproduction of offspring. It practically does not swim in the equatorial zone and does not intersect with the subspecies of the southern Finvals. They differ from the northern counterparts larger sizes (about 10 %).
The whales menu are small crustaceans (plankton) and mediumsized fish (herring, navaga, saika, caper). Finvals at high speed pursue fish jambs, knock them in a dense pile and eat them. And for convenience they do it on the side. Sometimes they are climbing squid. One Finval can consume up to 2 tons of food per day.
The northern Finvals reach puberty by 4-6 years after birth. Whales mate throughout the year. The peak of the wedding period falls on the winter. Females are brought down by cubs of 11 or 12 months. The lactation period is 6-7 months. Finvals keep in groups of 2-7 individuals, sometimes they are single.
Red Book
Before herring whales had no enemies. Habitat far from the shores and a significant speed of movement made them almost invulnerable. In the XIX century, with the development of technological progress in the field of sea fishing, this type of whales underwent mass extermination in the same way as other types of family. From 1868 to 1967 in the north of the Atlantic, 57.2 thousand finvals caught. In 1982, a full ban was introduced to the fishing whale of herring. However, in 2006 in Iceland, its fishing was again allowed. Although the population of the species by this time has not restored.
Before the northern Finval became the object of the Providence, its number in the waters of the Northern Pacifika was more than 40 thousand individuals. By 1972, it was reduced to 15-17 thousand. Now approximately 5 thousand representatives of this type of whales are left.
In the Red Book of MSOP, the northern Finval is designated as a vulnerable species. The reduction of its number was more affected by the uncontrolled catch in the past. But even now, whales die when meeting with long ships, when entering the rivers and harbor. Finvals also often become victims of killer whale attacks. With a low rate of reproduction of the population, all this greatly affects its restoration.
Interesting Facts
The northern Finvl has several more names. In addition to a herring whale, it is also called an ordinary strip, a real strip and a strip of herring.
Finval is the second largest animals on the planet after a blue whale. Also, these two types are closely related.
The first scientist to describe the species in the 17th century was Frederick Martens. Later it was described by Paul Dudley. Finally, a complete description based on these scientists was given by Karl Linnei in 1758. At the beginning of the XIX century, Count Lasoped gave Finval the name Balaenoptera Physalus.
The existence of a herring whale is very important for the cycle of organic substances, the biodiversity and functioning of animals of the communities of the Northern Pacific Ocean. In Eurasia, the view is listed in the Red Book and is protected according to the law of Eurasia, which provides for large fines for illegal catch. The measures taken must be observed with all severity, so that meetings with whales in their natural habitat occur much more often.
