Figure 12.—A sequence showing fast-swimming blue whales off southern California. The animal rises rather steeply to the surface ([a]), emits a tall, vertical blow ([b], [c]), shows its broad bluish back, mottled with grayish white, and its small dorsal fin ([d], [e]), and then dives out of sight ([f]). When swimming in this manner, blue whales sometimes raise their tail flukes slightly above the surface before beginning their long dives ([g]). (Photos by J. F. Fish [a-f] and K. C. Balcomb [g].)

Figure 13.—Two views of blue whales on the ramps of whaling stations in Japan ([top]) and at Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland ([bottom]). Note the broad rounded appearance of the head, the single central head ridge, and the dark bluish-gray coloration, interrupted only by mottlings of grayish white. In the animal on the bottom note the all-black baleen plates, which are very broad relative to their length. (Photos by Japanese Whales Research Institute, courtesy of H. Omura [top]; and F. W. True, courtesy of U.S. National Museum [bottom].)

Figure 14.—Dead blue whales, harpooned and afloat off the stern of a factory ship in the Antarctic ([top]), and on the deck of a whaling station in western Canada ([bottom]). In both, note the numerous ventral grooves (from 55 to 85 or more) extending to the region of the navel and sometimes beyond, and the light coloration of the undersides of the flippers. Even though grooves are often present above the flippers, and occasionally even on the side of the head, counts of ventral grooves are usually made between the flippers. (Photos by Japanese Whales Research Institute, courtesy of H. Omura [top]; and G. C. Pike, courtesy of I. MacAskie [bottom].)