Bryde's whale Photo: CCTV

A research team of Nanjing Normal University in East China's Jiangsu Province has recently confirmed that the population of Bryde's whales around Weizhou Island in Beihai city, South China, has surpassed 70 individuals, establishing it as the world's largest coastal population of small Bryde's whales.

Inshore Bryde's whales are small, with adult lengths of about 9 to 12 meters, generally not exceeding 14 meters. Offshore Bryde's whales, on the other hand, are larger, with adult lengths ranging from 14 to 16 meters. 

The team used modeling techniques to calculate the body lengths of Bryde's whales, confirming that none exceeded 14 meters. Researchers also used genetic data to further confirm the identity of the Weizhou Island Bryde's whale through tissue and skeletal samples from three Bryde's whales and determined that they belong to a subspecies of small inshore Bryde's whales.

CCTV-Global Times