uncommon around the Island? The answer doesn't lie in scarcity of 
     
     food, because mackerel, herring, and other pelagic fish are as common 
     
     here as they are elsewhere. But the waters around the Island are very 
     
     warm in the summer, and this may make it harder for seabirds and 
     
     sea mammals to catch their prey. Fish are cold-blooded animals, and 
     
     the warmer the water the faster their "burst speed" for emergency 
     
     predator avoidance. Thus seabirds and whales that spend their summers 
     
     in eastern Canadian waters may prefer areas where colder waters make 
     
     the fish more sluggish and easier to catch. Nevertheless, the big 
     
     whales can hardly refuse the gastronomic windfall that comes on a 
     
     herring spawning ground. Because the fish that come to eat herring 
     
     eggs are sometimes so stuffed that their swimming is seriously 
     
     impaired, they may be as easy to catch as fish that are slowed by 
     
     chilly water elsewhere. On such occasions, Prince Edward Island can 
     
     boast whale concentrations as impressive as any in the West Atlantic. 
     
    
   
   
    
     A note on identification 
     
    

    
     Both fin and minke whales are baleen whales, which use comb-like 
     
     plates to filter large plankton and small fish from the water. Except 
     
     in unusual circumstances like breaching, whale-watchers are likely to 
     
     see only the animal's back. When baleen whales surface, the dorsal 
     
     surface appears in sequence, as if one were rolling a hula hoop in 
     
     water almost deep enough to cover it. The back of the head appears 
     
     first, and the animal spouts. As the head sinks, the mid-back appears, 
     
     to be followed by_the rear section which carries the fin. Minke and 
     
     fin whales can be distinguished by their size (adult fins are 18—23 
     
     meters, minkes are 7—9 meters). They can also be separated by the much 
     
     briefer surface interval of the minke. Other great whales including 
     
     blues and 'humpbacks may stray into our waters. Blue .whales can be 
     
     identified by their great size and very small dorsal fin, and humpbacks 
     
     have a distinct hump on the leading edge of the dorsal fin. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     This shows the surfacing 
     
     sequence of a fin whale. 
     
     Note the progressive 
     
     appearance of the back 
     
     from head to dorsal fin. 
     
     In this sequence the whale 
     
     is arching its back before 
     
     the dive, which means that 
     
     it anticipates a long, 
     
     deep dive. This posture' 
     
     would not be found around 
     
     Prince Edward Island 
     
     because deep dives are not 
     
    
   
   
    
     \ 
     
     W 
     
     A possible in our shallow 
     
     ._1IIIIEIIIIIHIIIIIIII-_______ 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     waters.