Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)

Species in this group

LC

Megaptera novaeangliae

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

LC

Balaenoptera acutorostrata

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

EN

Balaenoptera musculus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

VU

Balaenoptera physalus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Balaenoptera omurai

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

EN

Balaenoptera borealis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Balaenoptera edeni

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Daily sighting probability by month

Probability-weighted average across the group's species

~10%

Jan

~20%

Feb

~10%

Mar

~10%

Apr

~20%

May

~30%

Jun

~30%

Jul

~30%

Aug

~30%

Sep

~20%

Oct

~10%

Nov

~10%

Dec

When they're spotted

When the group's species are recorded (aggregated)

Where to see Rorquals

Warmer areas are where this group is recorded most often. Shaded: the known ranges of its 8 species, darker where more of them overlap (Mammal Diversity Database, Marsh et al. 2022). Our parks Our cities In captivity: 8 zoos & centres

Parks Ranked

#	Park	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 7	~80%
	Humpback Whale			~80%
	Fin Whale			~30%
2	Svalbard	🇳🇴 Norway	4 of 7	~70%
	Minke Whale			~40%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
	Fin Whale			~20%
	Blue Whale			~20%
3	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	3 of 7	~60%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
	Blue Whale			~30%
	Fin Whale			~20%
4	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	3 of 7	~60%
	Humpback Whale			~50%
	Fin Whale			~10%
	Minke Whale			~10%
5	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 7	~40%
	Humpback Whale			~40%
6	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	1 of 7	~40%
	Humpback Whale			~40%
7	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 7	~40%
	Humpback Whale			~40%
8	Utría National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	1 of 7	~40%
	Humpback Whale			~40%
9	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~40%
	Humpback Whale			~40%
10	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	1 of 7	~30%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
11	Cape Range	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~30%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
12	Booderee National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~30%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
13	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~30%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
14	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 7	~30%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
	Blue Whale			~10%
15	Noosa National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~30%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
16	Maria Island National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~20%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
17	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 7	~20%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
18	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 7	~20%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
19	Freycinet National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~20%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
20	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 7	~20%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
21	Gros Morne National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 7	~20%
	Minke Whale			~20%
22	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	3 of 7	~20%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
	Bryde's Whale			~10%
	Blue Whale			<5%
23	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
24	Wilsons Promontory National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
25	Raja Ampat	🇮🇩 Indonesia	1 of 7	~10%
	Omura's Whale			~10%
26	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
	Bryde's Whale			<5%
27	Tierra del Fuego National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	1 of 7	~10%
	Sei Whale			~10%
28	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
29	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
30	Great Otway National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
31	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
32	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
33	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
34	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
35	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 7	<5%
	Humpback Whale			<5%

Cities Ranked

#	City	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			~10%
2	Montreal	🇨🇦 Canada	2 of 7	~10%
	Humpback Whale			<5%
	Minke Whale			<5%
3	Los Angeles	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 7	<5%
	Minke Whale			<5%
	Humpback Whale			<5%
4	San Francisco	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 7	<5%
	Humpback Whale			<5%
5	Cape Town	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 7	<5%
	Humpback Whale			<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Copenhagen Zoo	🇩🇰 Denmark	In captivity
2	Ostrava Zoo	🇨🇿 Czechia	In captivity
3	Sea World	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
4	Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm & Zoo	🇹🇭 Thailand	In captivity
5	Zoológico de Concepción	🇨🇱 Chile	In captivity
6	Acuario de Sevilla	🇪🇸 Spain	In captivity
7	Bangsaen Aquarium	🇹🇭 Thailand	In captivity
8	Parque Marino de La Magdalena	🇪🇸 Spain	In captivity