A Checklist To The 21 Sea Mammals Of Sri Lanka

1
THE BLUE WHALE
Measuring up to one hundred feet, there is nothing that still lives on our harried planet quite so large or inspiring as the Blue Whale. Although hunted to near extension, their numbers falling from around 140,000 in 1926, a slow recovery in progress with numbers estimated to be around 25,000. Remarkably, the blue whales found off Sri Lanka’s beaches are permanent residents, their otherwise migratory inclinations negated by the sheer magnetic nutrient wealth of the country’s waters, fed by run off and monsoon rain and captured by an ocean shelf that is perfectly constituted to maximise the availability and accessibility of food.

2
BRYDE'S WHALE
So elongated as to resemble a fifty-foot torpedo on testosterone, Bryde's Whale is considered widely distributed and is regularly if infrequently, seen off Sri Lanka’s shores.

3
THE FIN WHALE
At almost ninety feet in length, the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera Physalus) is only pipped to the post of longest living animal on earth by the Blue Whale. Migratory by nature, they are distributed right around the world expect the Arctic, but sightings of them around Sri Lanka remain relatively rare.

4
THE FALSE KILLER WHALE
The False Killer Whale gets its unfortunate name from being easily confused with killer whales; a similarity that taxed vexed Victorian marine biologists ever eager to pin them down. Found all around the world, they prefer tropical waters – and deep ones at that but remain a rare and prized sight for Sri Lankan whale watchers.

5
THE GINKGO TOOTH BEAKED WHALE
A mere sixteen feet in length, the Ginkgo-Tooth Beaked Whale is one of the most mysterious of whales, little studied, and rarely seen. It inhabits tropical and warm temperate waters in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and whilst there have been the odd sighting off Sri Lanka, seeing one is an event worthy of newspaper headlines.

6
CUVIER BEAKED WHALE
Cuvier's Beaked Whale is a relatively small beast in whale terms (around 20 feet in length) but holds the record for the deepest and longest dives, plunging to almost 3,000 metres for over 200 minutes. When not displaying such pressure-busting dexterity, it keeps to tropical or temperate seas of 1,000 feet in depth; and is occasionally spotted in the deeper seas around Sri Lanka.

7
THE HUMPBACKED WHALE
The Hump-Backed Whale is one of whale conservation’s rare success stories. Once numbering around 5,000, today they are recorded to stand at an estimated 135,000. Although rarely spotted off Sri Lanka’s beaches, they is still sufficiently seen as to give hope to determined whale watchers.

8
THE KILLER WHALE
Despite being known as Killer Whales, they are actually a type of dolphin, albeit vast around thirty feet in length. They live typically for thirty years or so but often do not become sexually active until halfway through this period. They are strikingly intelligent, their brains weighing more than most other whales but the sperm whale.

9
THE LITTLE PICKED MINKE
The Little Picked Whale Minke Whale is a solitary beast, and an although infrequent visitor to the Sri Lanka’s seas is common enough to have been regularly sighted.

10
THE PIGMY SPERM WHALE
The Pigmy Sperm Whale has a solid barrel-like body and notably fewer brain neurons than its cousins, making it more intellectually challenged than many other whales. They live for little over 20 years, and are shy, rarely spotted creatures, albeit ones occasionally seen off Sri Lanka’s beaches.

11
THE SOUTHERN BOTTLENOSE WHALE
Spotting a Southern Bottlenose Whale off Sri Lanka’s coast is rare. They live most typically in the Antarctic, but a few have been spotted near Sri Lanka, most possibly lost. Measuring just over 20 feet, they can be mistaken for giant dolphins with their tubelike snout and bulbous head.

12
THE SPERM WHALE
Massive, migratory, equipped with the largest brain of any living creature, and able to live up to seventy years, the Sperm Whale was hunted by commercial whalers for hundreds of years, their numbers pushed to the point of extreme vulnerability. They have since started to recover – slowly. They are one of the most sighted whales off Sri Lanka’ shores, tempted by warms and plentiful seas to group together and mate, forming super pods of sometimes a hundred beasts in March and April.

13
THE COMMON BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
Gunboat grey, with a single blowhole, a dorsal fin, and a length of anything up to thirteen feet, The Common Bottlenose Dolphin has have a brain larger than that of humans. They are also very sociable, usually living in pods of around 15 animals – though when the party mood takes them, the pod can dramatically expand to around 1000. They talk to one another with signature whistles. They can be seen off beaches as far apart as Trincomalee, Kalpitiya and Mirissa.

14
THE COMMON DOLPHIN
Widely distributed and happily plentiful in number, the Common Dolphin is a most sociable creature, living in packs of a dozen or so – but ones that have been known to come together with others to number 10,000 for short periods of time. Measuring up to eight feet in length they display a beautiful two tone coloration: slate grey upper sides, and white undersides. They can be seen off up and down the Sri Lankan coastline from Trincomalee to Point Dondra, and Kalpitiya around to Mirissa.

15
FRASER'S DOLPHIN
Fraser's Dolphin is most typically found in the Americans but is so frequent a visitor of Asian oceans as to be a strong contender to spot around Sri Lanka. They are tiny (about 3 feet in length) and stocky, with the uncertain accolade of having the smallest genitalia of any dolphin.

16
THE INDIAN OCEAN HUMPBACK DOLPHIN
The Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin is an endangered species - so spotting one is special. Infant mortality rates are especially high as they are unduly sensitive to environmental pollution, habitat changes and noise.

17
THE LITTLE INDIAN PORPOISE
Whilst Sri Lanka delights in making space in its oceans for seven types of dolphins, only one porpoise is seen here (and that very rarely) – the Little Indian Porpoise Shy, and, when not caught up in fishing nets or polluted out of existence, they can live to around 30 years.

18
THE PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHIN
Slender, elegant, playful, acrobatic, the Pantropical Spotted Dolphin have seen their numbers falling dramatically over the past decade. Found off many beaches in Sri Lanka, their fondness for tuna has the depressing side result of ensuring that many are killed by fishermen, tragic by products of the race to keep the sushi bars of the world running smoothly.

19
RISSO'S DOLPHIN
Risso's Dolphin hugs the coastline of most of the world’s continents, and of course, the island of Sri Lanka. Measuring thirteen feet in length, connoisseurs of squid and seaweed, they are usually found in pods of a dozen or more.

20
THE SPINNER DOLPHIN
The Spinner Dolphin comes in at the smaller end of the dolphin spectrum – around seven feet in length and can be found in gladdening numbers wherever there is tropical or subtropical water. They are especially plentiful to see in Kalpitiya – but are also commonly sighted in such other locations as the beaches off Trincomalee and Mirissa.


21
THE COMMON DUGONG
Also known as the sea cow, the Dugong lives with bovine contentment, grazing on sea grass meadows in shallow bays, mangroves, the waters of inshore islands and inter-reef waters., Widespread legal protection has not stopped them being hunted, whilst habitat pollution and degradation has also decimated their numbers.