THE HYBRID! BLUE/FIN WHALE
Mostly every year, we have a special visitor in Skjálfandi Bay, a hybrid whale! This whale is special because it is a combination of two whale species. In this case, it is between a blue whale and a fin whale, the two largest animals in the world.
DNA samples were taken in 2014 and showed that the mother of this whale is a blue whale and the father is a fin whale.
The characteristics of this hybrid are a combination between blue and fin whale aspect: the body size is similar to the normal length of blue whales (around 18-25 meters) as well as the grey coloration, but the dorsal fin is very tall and much similar to the dorsal fins of fin whales.
Through the pictures, it is possible to see the differences between an hybrid and a blue whale (last picture)
We don’t know why this type phenomenon happen in the wild, but one possibility it might be that female blues are unable to find a mate of their own species and must settle for a fin whale partner.
This particular hybrid whale was firstly seen in 2007 and since then is a regular visitor at least once during summer season. This year we were lucky enough to see this whale 3 times!
Did you get curious to see this whale? It would be spectacular if it would visit the bay once again!
-Diana