He must have an even older version of the OED than me - mine says "marine animal!" Luckily I don't rely on an outdated dictionary for scientific information!:p
Well my Shorter (3d ed), Concise (7th ed) and Pocket (4th)Oxford all say mammal.
Ans=d I think the older definition is better than "any of several large sea animals, some of which are hunted for their oil and flesh" eg The Elephant Whale