Balaenoptera edeni
Silhouette: Chris huh · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Bryde's whale ( BRUU-dəz), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and possibly four. The "complex" means the number and classification remain unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. Also, a smaller, coastal form of B. brydei is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale. The recently described Omura's whale (B. omurai, Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. Rice's whale (B. ricei), which makes its home solely in the Gulf of Mexico, was once considered a distinct population of Bryde's whale, but in 2021 it was described as a separate species.
B. brydei gets its specific and common name from Johan Bryde, Norwegian consul to South Africa, who helped establish the first modern whaling station in the country, while B. edeni gets its specific and common names from Sir Ashley Eden, former High Commissioner of Burma (Myanmar). Sittang whale refers to the type locality of the species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm & Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Bangsaen Aquarium | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bryde's Whale sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 33rd most-seen of the 39 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bryde's Whale in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bryde's Whale sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Bryde's Whale sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Galápagos Islands (Ecuador, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bryde's Whale is recorded against all the mammals logged in Table Mountain National Park (10 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
