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Fishin' for Facts: Sei Whales
Sei is pronounced like the word "say."

Common name: Sei Whale
    Scientific name: Family Balaenopteridae
        Genus species:  Balaenoptera borealis

    Male sei whales can reach lengths up to 17.5 meters (57 feet) long and females can be 18-21 meters (59 to 69 feet) long.
    Sei whale calves are about 4. 5 to 4.8 meters (14.7 to 15.7 feet) long at birth.

   Like other baleen whales, sei whales are filter feeders.   Sei whales eat copepods, krill, squid and small schooling fish. Their baleen is grayish-black and the baleen in the front of the mouth can have white fringes.  Depending on the size of the whale, they can have 300 to 410 baleen plates on each side of the upper jaw.

    Sei whales are found all over the world. The sei's found in the Antarctic are a little larger than those found in the northern part of the world.  These are long skinny looking critters with a small dorsal fin. Sei's are dark gray with a light gray underside. At sea, they look very similar to a Bryde's whale.

      It is estimated the current world population is  55,000 individuals.  Sei whales are listed as "endangered" by the IUCN.  Based on the high demand for products made from whale parts, sei whales were hunted extensively for their blubber and baleen. Unfortunately, at that time there was no world wide management of how many whales should be  taken, so they were hunted until the populations were too small. They are now protected from hunting.