Located within the borders of the International Whaling Commission’s Protected Zone in the waters of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is gradually turning out to be a favoured island destination for Whale Watching with sightings of varieties of Baleen whales and Toothed whales. Our little island stands proud as a destination for all year round recreational activities. Over a hundred rivers and eco systems contribute to the ocean around Sri Lanka. With the swell during the monsoon season as well as the island’s perfect location and its proximity to the continental shelf creates the perfect condition to support the food chain in the warm tropical water systems of Sri Lanka.

Whales are warm blooded, marine mammals which are of the order Cetacea. They breathe air, give birth to live young and are found in all the oceans of the world. Whales are divided into two suborders, the Odontoceti (toothed whales) and Mysticeti (baleen whales). Mysticeti are toothless mammals while instead of teeth, they have a rigid brush like whalebone plate material which is called ‘baleen’ which hangs from their upper jaw area.

Some of them include the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca), Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps), Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia simus), Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera brydei), Melon Headed Whale (Peponocephala electra), Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris), Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens), Southern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon planifrons), False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens), Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata) and Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus).