Megaptera novaeagliae :
A favorite amongst whale watchers in Panama due to their friendly nature  and their acrobatic displays, often ‘breaching’ with only their fluke (tail) remaining in the water. They also slap the water with their fins and fluke. Their pectoral fins are proportionately larger than any other cetacean. They visit both the Pacific and Atlantic waters of Panama. They are dark with white on their undersides and pectoral fins. They have humps on the leading edge of their dorsal fin and bumps on their rostrum. They often have barnacles and lice on the underside of their jaws.
We have a page dedicated to the Humpback Whales in Panama.

Physeter macrocephalus :
There is a substance called spermaceti oil that is present in copious amounts in the large heads of these whales, hence their name the Sperm Whale. This oil was one of the motivations for hunting them, as well as a waxy substance that they excrete called ambergris. It can be found floating in the ocean and a finding a large chunk washed up on a beach could net you tens of thousands of dollars. It’s main commercial application is it’s use as an agent to slow down the evaporation of perfumes so that they have a more enduring fragrance.
The male Sperm Whale can be up to 18m in length and the females are smaller at 11m. They are slender, with a square head and have no significant dorsal fin. They have a wrinkled appearance and are brown in color. Their blow is very tall by which they are easily spotted in the wild, and it comes out at a 45° angle from their left nasal opening.

Kogia breviceps and Kogia sima :
Kogia are extremely difficult to see in the wild. They are usually spotted in very calm waters and they are usually logging on the surface (just floating at the surface) and will just sink below the surface before diving and so aren’t very visible at the surface then either. Although surface activity is uncommon they have been seen leaping. They are roughly 2.7m to 3.4m and are quite dark.

Zilphiidae :
The Beaked Whale family are an incredibly diverse group of animals and the least known of all cetaceans. They are inconspicuous when at the surface and they dive deep. They range in size from 3.5m to 13m. Physical characteristics, which are adaptations for their deep diving, are small dorsal fins and recesses in the sides of their bodies to tuck the pectoral fins in for reduced drag. Of the 20 beaked species, only four may be found in Panama water and will only be seen in deep waters offshore. Maybe big game fishermen going to Hannibal Bank will see them

Balanoptera edeni :
Bryde’s Whales (pronounced broodus) are commonly seen throughout the tropics and although they are not the most surface-active species they can be seen breaching at times. They do not fluke up when they dive (tail up in the air) and they sometimes raise their chins when surfacing after a long dive.They measure up to 15m, they are dark in color with a small dorsal fin curved like a sickle.

Balanoptera borealis :
Sei Whales are found in both tropical and temperate waters but despite their wide distribution are probably the least known of all the Rorquals (the largest sub-group of Baleen Whales – they sift water for their food). They are not surface active, do not fluke up before diving and very rarely breach.

Balanoptera physalus :
This is the second largest cetacean reaching a maximum length of 22m. It is sleek and fast, and is often referred to as ‘the greyhound of the sea’ reaching speeds of u[ to 30 km/h. They are dark brown or grey with unique color patterns and have a white band on their pectoral fin, a white underside with white streaks from the dorsum, and white on the right side of their jaw. Fin whales can be found in small groups and seem indifferent to the presence of boats, neither approaching nor avoiding them.

Balanoptera musculus :
The largest animal on earth has been recorded to have reached 34m in length and a weight of 190 tonnes, but typically reach 27m and between 110 and 140 tonnes. They have a migration cycly, feeding in the Antarctic and nursing their calves in warm tropical waters. Their color is a mottled grey but thay appear blue underwater. Their blow is vertically upward and reaches up to 9m, which makes them easy to locate from a distance.

Rhincodon typus :
The Whale Shark is not a whale – it’s a slow moving, filter feeding shark and the largest known existing fish species. They are up to to 12m in length. The Whale Shark lives in tropical and warm oceans and lives in open seas with a lifespan of about 70 years. They have large mouths and feed mainly on plankton and very small fish.

Trichechus manatus :
Manatees (aka sea cows) are not Whales. Despite their appearance they are not closely related to whales, dolphins, seals or sea lions, their closest relatives are the Elephant and the Hyraxes. They are easy to identify in the wild and cannot be mistaken for other marine mammal species. Manatees reach 3m in length with a weight of 1 tonne. They are grey in color, very rounded, have no dorsal fin and have a round flattened tail. Vestigial toenails are found in their flippers. They travel very slowly and have algae growing on their backs. They are the only herbivorous marine mammal and use their large palpable lips to graze on sea grasses and algae, consuming up to 15% of their body-weight daily. Due to their foraging behavior, which is just below the surface in coastal areas, they are vulnerable to collision by motor boats and so are the subject of conservation efforts. Unlike Whales, they are tolerant to varying salinity, but they are intolerant to cold and are only found in shallow tropical waters.The West Indian Manatee can be seen along the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Orcinus orca :
Probably the most recognisable of all the dolphins, and one of the most diversified species. They are the largest of the dolphins and can reach upto 10m in length and have a distinctive triangualr dorsal that begins to grow in adolescence. Killer Whales are black with white eye patches, white belly patterns, and a variable white ‘saddle patch’ located just behind the dorsal fin. They are hunting animals that go after large cetaceans. In Panamanian waters they have the opportunity of feeding on young calves, which they first attempt to separate from their mothers.

Pseudorca crasidens :
This black dolphin reaches a maximum length of 6m and has a dorsal fin that often resembles that of a Killer Whale. They are easy told apart from the other dolphins because they are black and do not have a pronounced rostrum. Their heads are rounded and appear blunt, their dorsal fins are curved. False Kiiller Whales are an out-going species and can be found throughout tropical waters.

Feresa attenuata :
These are the smallest of the blackfish, reaching 2.5m with a medium-sized curved dorsal fin, and a rounded head with no beak. They are all black with a darker cape pattern, white undersides and distinctive white coloration on their ‘lips’ and chin. They are aggressive towards humans and other cetaceans. There is evidence from wild populations that they prey on dolphins.

Peponocephala electra :
This dolphin of the blackfish family is also known as many-toothed blackfish and electra dolphin. These are only slightly larger than the Pygmy Killer Whales and are often mistaken for them as they have very similar color, dorsal fin and also have white around their mouths, but the Melon Headed Whales do not not have white on their chin. They travel in large groups throughout the tropics but are rarely seen by humans as they prefer to stay in deep water.

Globicephala macrorhynchus :
This is a large dolphin of the blackfish family reaching lengths of up to 6.5m. It lives in tropical and subtropical waters and its cousin, the Long-Finned Pilot Whale lives in colder waters, between them they have the world covered. They are friendly and can be approached in the wild but are typically not very active at the surface. Due to their foraging at great depths they have long dive times.Short-Finned Pilot Whales,/em> are one of the few mammal species to go through the menopause. They are highly social and studies suggest that both males and females remain in their mothers’ pods, very unusual amongst mammals. They are among the cetacean species most commonly stranded on beaches.