Baleen Whales

Baleen whales don’t have teeth. Instead they have long baleen plates that hang down from the roof of their mouth. Baleen is not bone. It’s made of keratin, the same substance as hair, horns, claws and nails. Whales use these baleen plates for filter-feeding. All baleen whales have two blowholes. Three species of baleen whale frequent our waters and are seen regularly on our whale watching tours from Victoria, British Columbia: humpback whales, minke whales and grey whales. Fin whales are very rare visitors.