KARACHI: Some fishermen observed two pods of Bryde’s whales along the coast of Sindh. Iqrar Muhammad, captain of Al Azaan fishing boat, said that he observed a pod of five whales feeding on a school of fish and pelagic shrimps in waters about 15 km off Hajamro Creek, near the mouth of the Indus River. Another fisherman, Hasnat Khan also recorded three more Bryde’s whales on the same date about 40 miles south of Khajar Creek, Indus River. The footages show slender body of whales with a sickle-shaped dorsal fin that confirms that these are Bryde’s whales. The Bryde’s whale, scientifically known as Balaenoptera edeni, is among the three rorqual or baleen whales found in Pakistani waters. The other two are blue whale and Arabian humpback whale. There are a few records of the presence of Bryde’s whale in Pakistan which are mainly based on the beached carcasses. Earlier, a carcass of a Bryde’s whale was found in Damb, Sonmiani on 20 August 2013, while two other specimens were caught in tuna gillnets on 12 July 2010 in Gwadar and 2 May 2014 in offshore waters near Ormara which died during disentanglement. The Bryde’s whale is the only species of baleen whales that spends the whole year in tropical and subtropical zones. Bryde’s whale species is listed as Data Deficient category in the IUCN Red List, meaning not enough is known about its status. However, there are no two opinions that this species is of rare occurrence and its population in some geographical locations, including Pakistan, is declining and is under threat.