This is Waves, the whale (left). Waves is a Beanie Baby made by Ty Inc. Ty Inc. also made a Beanie Baby by the name of Splash (right) who is also a whale. It's hard to say what type of whale Waves is supposed to be. If he was a Killer Whale he would have the typical white marking over the eye. He might be a Bottlenose whale that is a grayish black, 30-foot-long whale with whitish underparts similar to Waves. The Bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) is found in Arctic seas and along North Atlantic Coasts.

These are Humpback Whales, the blue one was made by Dakin plush and was part of their Wyland Collection. The grey one is from the Stuffed Animal House. Check the Gift Shop to see if there are any whales there.

Whales are divided into two groups: toothed whales and whalebone whales. The whalebone or baleen whales include the blue whale (largest animal in the world) and the humpback. Whalebone whales vary in length from 50 to 100 feet. Baleen whales do not have teeth, but rather projections of baleen plates that are used to strain plankton from sea water.

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a large whale that is black on its back and white on the throat, chest and the undersides of the flippers and tail. It can reach a length of 50 feet. These whales are known for their haunting song, which is used for communication among members of the pod. It was called humpback by whalers who noticed its tendency to arch its back just before diving.

The humpback calf is about 15 feet long at birth and weighs almost two tons. The gestation period is about one year.

For some interesting facts about humpbacks, click on this link: http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/humpback.htm

Other Oceanarium tanks include:

Crabs | Dolphin | Eel | Fish | Harp Seal | Manatee | Manta Ray | Octopus | Oceanarium | Orca | Otter | Seahorse | Sea Lion | Sea Star | Sea Turtle | Seal | Shark | Snail | Walrus | Whale | Whale Shark