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Sei whale Facts

Sei whale Facts
Sei whale belongs to the group of baleen whales. There are two subspecies of sei whales that can be found in all oceans of the world. Sei whale usually resides in temperate waters, away from the shore. Number of sei whales has dropped for approximately 70% due to intense hunting of these whales in the past. Even though sei whales are protected by law today, their population is still shrinking due to accidental collisions with ships, chemical and noise pollution of the sea and lack of food. Sei whales are on the list of endangered species.
Interesting Sei whale Facts:
Sei whale can reach 64 feet in length and 28 tons of weight. Females are slightly larger than males.
Sei whale has dark, bluish grey back and light-colored belly.
Sei whale has pointed rostrum (snout), short pectoral fins, tall, slightly hooked dorsal fin and slender body which ends with thick tail. Throat is covered with 40 to 65 longitudinal grooves. Sei whale has single ridge that stretches from the tip of the snout to the blowholes.
Sei whale has 300 to 400 baleen plates on each side of the mouth. Individual plates are 19 inches long and they form comb-like structure which filters edible matter from the water ingested during the feeding.
Sei whale is a carnivore (meat-eater). It consumes around 2.000 pounds of krill, copepods, zooplankton and fish per day.
Sei whales can spend up to 20 minutes under the water when they are looking for food.
Name "sei" originates from the Norwegian word "seje", used to describe pollock, type of fish which gather near the coast of Norway at the same time as the sei whales.
Sei whale is one of the fastest species of whales. It can swim at the speed of 35 miles per hours when it needs to escape from the predators.
Natural enemies of sei whales are killer whales and humans.
Sei whale is solitary creature that occasionally travels in small groups (pods) composed of 2 to 3 (up to 6) animals. Large pods (50 or more sei whales) can be seen in areas that provide plenty of food.
Sei whales produce low-frequency, growl-like calls for communication.
Sei whales migrate toward the colder waters (that are rich in food) during the summer. They live and breed in the warmer waters during the winter.
Pregnancy in females lasts 11 to 13 months and ends with one (rarely two) baby (calf). Female gives birth once every 2 to 3 years.
Sei whale is 15 feet long and weighs one ton at birth. It depends on the mother's milk until the age of 9 months. Sei whales reach sexual maturity at the age of 7 to 11 years (they usually start to reproduce at the age of 10 years).
Sei whales can survive 50 to 70 years in the wild.


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