-••J«!^ 



Figure 16. — A gmall group of fin whales off British Columbia. Fin whales may be found in groups of up to six or seven individuals and these groups may 



congregate in feedinggrounds. {Photo by G. C. Pike, courtesy of L MacAalde.) 



Figure 17.— The back ol a harpooned fin whale in the eastern North Pacific (left) and in the North Atlantic (right). In both note the light grayish-white 

 chevrons just behind the head. These chevrons are not usually very distinctive in North Atlantic fin whales. In the animal in the left photo note also the 

 prominent ridge along the back behind the dorsal fin— a characteristic which prompted the common name "razorback." {Photos courtesy of Los 



Angeles Examiner [left] and K. C. Balcomb [right]. ) 



Figure 19. — As they begin a long dive, fin whales frequently arch the tail 

 stock high into the air, exposing the dorsal fin. Even on a long dive, 

 however, this species is not known to throw its tail flukes high into the 

 air or even to raise them slightly, as blue whales sometimes do when 

 beginning a long dive. {Photo from off Virgima by J. G. Mead. ) 



28 



