The Whales
There are 23 species of whales around Iceland, and many of them are in the Faxaflói Bay outside of Reykjavík. They are from about 1.5 meters up to 15 meters long and when you see these gentle giants up close you really feel alive. The most common whale and dolphin species in Faxa Bay are Minke whales, humpback whales, dolphins, porpoises and in the beginning of summer blue whales and fin whales could be seen.
Blue Whale
Length: 20 – 33 meters
Weight: 110 – 190 tons
Life span: about 90 years
Diet: krill and plankton
Fun facts: They are the biggest animals ever on earth. A blue whale’s heart is big as a car, its flukes as broad as a small aeroplane and some of the blood vessels so big that you can swim through them.
Humpback Whale
Length: 13 – 17 meters
Weight: 25 – 40 tons
Life span: about 95 years
Diet: krill, plankton and small fish
Fun facts: They most often raise their flukes above the surface when diving, revealing their unique “fingerprints”. This black and white pattern underneath their flukes can be used for identification.
Minke Whale
Length: 7 – 10 meters
Weight: 8 – 10 tons
Life span: about 50 years
Diet: krill, plankton and small fish
Fun facts: They are the most common whales around Iceland. There are two types of minke whales; the northern kind (which we see) has a white band on each flipper, while the southern type does not.
Northern Bottlenose Whale
Length: 7 – 9 meters
Weight: 6 – 8 tons
Life span: about 50 years
Diet: various fish
Fun facts: The males have only two teeth at the front of the lower jaw while females have no teeth at all – in difference to most other toothed whales which can have up to hundreds of teeth each.
White-beaked dolphin
Length: 2,5 – 3 meters
Weight: 180 – 350 kilos
Life span: about 25 years
Diet: various small fish, e.g. mackerel
Fun facts: They are very playful little whales, social and acrobatic. It often happens that they approach our boats due to curiosity; swim with us, bow ride and breach.