Fantastic facts! |
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Baleen whales are distinct because of their teeth. Instead of sharp bones like other mammals they have baleen plates. These giant hairy “teeth” are used like a big sieve. The whale swims around with his mouth open until he’s collected a bunch of water and food, then he closes his “teeth” and spits all the water back through them, trapping the food in his baleen. He then uses his giant tongue to lick the food off of the baleen.
Whales communicate using beautiful songs that can be heard underwater. Humpbacks are particularly well known for these songs.
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Minkes Whales, like the one in the picture to the right, are the second smallest baleen whales in the world, and are definitely the smallest in the Bay of Fundy. They grow to be about 27ft long and can weigh up to 14 tons! |
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This guy in the picture to the left is a humpback whale. He's the most popular for site seeing in the Bay of Fundy because he’s such an acrobat. It's not uncommon to see him leaping out of the water and putting on a show. These guys weight 25-40 tons and grow to be about 48ft long! Almost twice the size of the Minkie Whale! |
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Right whales are another whale that frequents the Bay of Fundy. The north Atlantic Right whale to be exact. They are a critically endangered species; there are only about 400 of them left in the entire world! This is due to the intensive whaling that used to be popular in the area and the shipping lanes of our big commercial ships today interfering with their Migration patterns. These are also baleen whales that grow to be between 45 to 55 feet long and can weigh up to 70 tons. |
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All pages ?Green's Point Lighthouse Association - L'Etete, New Brunswick, Canada.
: Green's Point Lighthouse, Interpretive Centre/Museum, Rental Cottage