Meet the sei whale

Say what? Sei whale (Baleanoptera borealis).

The Sei whale - pronounced "say" whale is the world's third largest animal after the blue whale and fin whale. They are not as well known as these two larger species, but are definitely as cool.

The sei whale is a large filter feeding whale species that can grow up to 21 m in length! Sei whales are sleek and slender but often have round pitted scars on their body. These marks are the result of bites from cookie cutter sharks. The cookie cutter marks can even be entire circular holes going right through the dorsal fin of the whales.  

Sei whale surfacing to breathe

Sei whale dorsal fin (with a hole made by a cookie cutter shark)

Sei whale surfacing, showing the characteristic curved top of its rostrum

Two sei whales travelling together