Dear reader,

In almost a few weeks, the Whale Museum in Húsavík will publish a short informative text about the most common whale species in Skjálfand. We start the game on the Steypireyðn, which is the largest animal on earth.

Latin name: Balaenoptera musculus 
English name: blue whale
Icelandic name: Steypireður      
Average age: 80-90 years  
Food choices: Marine animals and small fish         
Size: up to 30 meters        
Weight: up to 200 tons

The gazelle is the largest animal that has ever lived on earth. The largest single animal ever measured was a female, measuring approximately 33,6 meters. Most grayling are between 29-30 meters and the males are generally smaller than the females. The length of an otter is therefore not dissimilar to three medium-sized buses or six full-grown elephants. The tongue can weigh 6 tons, which is similar to the weight of a single elephant. The heart is the size of a passenger car. The heartbeat can be heard from up to 3,2 km away. Also, the veins of the reef are wider so that small children could swim through them.

The gestation period for gray seals is 11-12 months, and the female can have a new offspring every three years. The offspring is born 8 meters long and the birth weight is around 2700 kg. In the first year of life, the calf will gain weight by 90 kg per day, as the daily milk intake is 600 liters! Like other right whales, minke whales travel to warmer areas during the winter to mate and have offspring. In the summer, however, they travel to colder sea areas where the main focus is on foraging.

Sperm whales are ski whales and use a special filtering method to catch marine animals for food. They ingest large amounts of seawater, along with marine animals and small fish, and then push the sea out through their skis so that food is left alone. An adult animal can eat 36 tons of marine animals per day. The average diving time when searching for food is 10 minutes, but gray whales can dive for 20 minutes.

Steypireyðir are fast swimmers and always travel at around 8 km/h, but can speed up to 30 km/h if needed. When they come to the surface to breathe, the blast can reach a height of 9 meters.

Sperm whales communicate with low-frequency sounds that are so low that the human ear can barely detect them. However, the other sounds that great gray whales make are some of the loudest that exist and can be heard up to 1600 km away.

White-tailed eagles are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Endangered Animals. The population is recovering from heavy whaling seasons in the 20th century that went a long way toward wiping out the species. It is estimated that the population size of blue whales is now between 10-25 thousand animals.

It is most likely to see gray whales in Skjálfandaflói from mid-May until mid-July. In recent years, they have also been seen in March and September, but usually for a rather short time at a time.

Dear readers,

Whalecome, to this introduction to the whales of Skjálfandi bay! There are 5 common species of whales in the bay. Let's start these blogs with the largest of them all, the blue whale!

Scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus            
English name: blue whale        
Icelandic name: Steypireður  
Average life span: 80-90 years
Diet: Krill and small schooling fish        
Size: up to 30m             
Weight: up to 200 tonnes

The blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived on our planet. The longest recorded blue whale was a female and measured up to 33,6 meters. Most blue whales reach a length of 29 to 30 meters and males are smaller than females. This length of the whale can be compared with three buses or 6 elephants. The tongue of the blue whale weighs as much as an elephant (6 tons), their heart is the size of a car. The heart beat can be heard from 2 miles (3,2 km) away. Some blood vessels are big enough for a young child to swim through.

The gestation period is 11-12 months and a female can reproduce every three years. When the baby is born its already 8m long and weighs 2700kg. During the first year, the calf will gain 90kg per day by drinking 600L of milk. Blue whales, just like other baleen whales, migrate to warmer waters to mate and give birth during the winter. During the summer they feed in colder waters like here in Iceland. Blue whales are baleen whales and use the filter feeding technique to catch krill. With filter feeding, baleen whales gulp large amounts of water with the krill and small fish, then they push the water through the baleens, catching the food in the baleens. An adult can eat up to 36.000 kg of krill per day. The average dive during feeding is 10 minutes, it is possible for blue whales to dive up to 20 minutes

Blue whales are graceful swimmers and normally swim at a speed of 8km/h, they can reach a speed of 30km/h if needed. When the blue whale breaches the surface to breathe the blow from exhaling can be up to 9m high.

Blue whales use low frequency sounds to communicate, the sounds are so low that we can hardly hear them. Their sounds are one of the loudest on the planet and can be heard from a distance of 1600 km.

The blue whale at the moment has a status of endangered according to the IUCN red list. They are recovering from the whaling in the 1900s, which nearly drove them to extinction. It is estimated that there are now 10.000 to 25.000 blue whales that swim through all the oceans of the world.

The period with the best chance of seeing blue whales in Skjálfandi bay is from mid-May to mid-July.

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