Yes, you read right. We saw a small pod of Blainville's Beaked Whale while traveling from Eleuthra to Abacos. This isn't a great picture (blame the photographer!), but they were clear as we watched four of them meander along the top of the seas for about 20 minutes. Blainville's Beaked Whale has two distinctive horn-like teeth that grow from bulges in the lower jaw, and may be encrusted with barnacles. The forehead is flattened and the lower jaw is arched, giving the head a similar appearance to the right whale. Blainville’s beaked whale is dark blue-grey above, and light below, with a darker dorsal fin and eye patch. Females develop white upper and lower jaws, and both sexes have large white spots covering the entire body. Males are heavily and deeply scarred from fighting, as well as from attacks by the cookie-cutter shark, which leaves clearly visible characteristic marks. Whew - Ang has been talking about seeing whales during this voyage, now we can take that off the list!
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