Bryde’s whales are members of the baleen whale family. Bryde’s whales are found in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. Some populations of Bryde’s whales make short migratory movements with the seasons, while others do not migrate, making them unique among other migrating baleen whales.

The long and slender bodies of Bryde’s whales are a smoky blue-grey color and often marbled with scars caused by parasites and cookie-cutter sharks. Each whale has a sickle-shaped dorsal fin about two-thirds of the way back along their body, and unlike other baleen whales, has three parallel ridges on the top of their head that make up a quarter of their entire body length. Filter feeders, they have between 40 and 70 throat pleats that allow their mouths to expand and 250 to 410 coarse baleen plates to sieve their food from seawater.

As with the other large baleen whales, Bryde’s whales eat comparatively microscopic prey, mostly consisting of plankton, krill and copepods (tiny crustaceans). They also feast on bigger crustaceans such as crabs and shrimps, as well as a variety of small schooling fish.

Bryde’s whales cruise at about 6.5 km/h and can reach speeds of 18-24 km/h. They usually are solitary or paired; occasional aggregations of up to twelve. They are mostly or entirely residents in Sri Lankan waters and are the most common whale species seen in the Maldivian waters.