Franco Banfi / Pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) subspecies of blue whale, diving downwards, Mirissa, Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean. Endangered species.

Franco Banfi / Pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) subspecies of blue whale, diving down, Mirissa, Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean. Endangered species.

Franco Banfi / Pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) subspecies of blue whale, Mirissa, Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean. Endangered species.

Franco Banfi / Pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) subspecies of blue whale, Mirissa, Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean. Endangered species.

Ben Cranke / Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) surfacing with mountain landscape, Liefdefjorden, Svalbard, Norway. July 2011.

Mark Carwardine / Dwarf minke whale, thought to form a yet-to-be named sub-species of the Common minke whale {Balaenoptera acutorostrata}, Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Mark Carwardine / Rear view of Dwarf minke whale, thought to form a yet-to-be named sub-species of the Common minke whale {Balaenoptera acutorostrata}, Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Mark Carwardine / Tail flippers of Dwarf minke whale, thought to form a yet-to-be named sub-species of the Common minke whale {Balaenoptera acutorostrata}, Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Doug Allan / Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostra) at the surface in vast seascape wilderness. Antarctica, February. Freeze frame book plate page 135.

Hiroya Minakuchi / Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) near surface, Baja California, Mexico

Richard Herrmann / Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeding on krill, Coronado Islands, Baja California, Mexico

Flip Nicklin / Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) fatally injured in collision with ship and subsequently found by research vessel, Santa Barbara Channel, California