Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the Cetacea, an order of aquatic, mainly marine, mammals.
Almost 60 per cent of the world's cetaceans are to be found in Australian waters.
While there are said to be 43 species of baleen and toothed whales around Australia, the three most commonly seen types are the southern right, humpback and killer whales.
Southern right and humpback whales are baleen or whalebone whales. Instead of teeth, they have an elastic horny substance (baleen) in the upper jaw.
Killer whales, or orcas, are sharp-toothed.
Southern right whales
Southern right whales are 13 to 18 metres in length. They have no dorsal fin. They are predominantly black but some may have patches of white.
Because they tend to calve or rest with young calves in shallow water just beyond the surf line, they are easily spotted and observed.
They are slow swimmers and yield much oil and baleen, making them the "right" whale to hunt.
Humpback whales
Humpback whales are 14 to 19 metres in length. They have a small dorsal fin, often sitting on a hump. They are black on the back and white underneath and sometimes on the sides. The flippers and underside of the tail flukes are usually white. The baleen plates are black.
They usually raise their tail flukes before diving.
They are mostly seen and observed in the coastal waters of eastern and western Australia. They perform aerial leaps and sing during the breeding season.
Killer whales
Killer whales are 8 to 9.5 metres in length, with the males being larger than the females.
They have 10 to 12 pairs of large conical teeth in each jaw. A tall, erect dorsal fin up to 1.8 metres high is often the mark of the adult male. The dorsal fin of females is not as tall and is slightly hooked.
They have a black and white pattern. On the back they are black from the tip of the rostrum to the tail, with a white patch above the eyes, and a light grey saddle patch behind the dorsal fin. On the belly, white extends to the chin and branches into a white process on each side. The flukes are white underneath.
They are voracious predators, hunting singly or in groups and feeding on fish, seals and other cetaceans.
Whale Migration > Page 1, 2, 3
