I’ve been in love with whales since I am 7 years old. I remember my mother had a book on whales and I learn it by heart. For fun, I was giving the book to my sister and telling her to ask me any question about whales. Since that, I always had a passion for whales. I didn’t study it or made research since, so I am far from being an expert. I just like them and thought it would be nice to give some fun fact about them.
Whales have been around for a very long time. It is believe that they have been on earth for around 50 million years. It is also believe that they evolved from land-dwelling mammals and gradually adapted to life in the ocean.
Whales’ life is very long. Some of them live for decades. The bowhead whale is known to be one of the longest-living mammals, with some reaching over 200 years.
There are over 80 species of whales, divide into two types: the baleen whales and the toothed whales. Some of the baleen whales include Humpbacks (my favorite J ) and the blue whale. They have fibrous baleen plates in their mouths instead or teeth so they take a big quantity of water in their mouth and filter the water out keeping the krill, plankton and crustaceans in. Some toothed whales include orcas, beluga and sperm whales. Their teeth enable them to feed on larger prey such as fish and squid. All dolphin families are also classified as whales, manly in the toothed group.
All toothed whales have a mass of tissue in their foreheads that focuses the whales’ calls, vital for communication and echolocation. Just like bats, they use this echolocation to ‘’see’’.
Whales are very intelligent. They have large brain and exhibit complex social behaviors. They live in small family group call pods and communicate through vocalizations, body language and even bubble-net. Male humpback whales are known for their complex and haunting songs. These songs can last 20 minutes and be heard at a very far distance.
Blue whales are known to be the largest animals on earth. The Antarctic blue whales is the biggest of all, weighing up to 200 tons (approximately 33 elephants) and reach up to 30 meters (100 feet) in length. Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. They can eat about 3,600kg of krill per day.
Many species of whales migrate very long distance. For example, the gray whale migrates from its feeding grounds in the arctic to its breeding grounds in Mexico, a 12,000 miles (19,000 kilometers) journey. Humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere don’t eat most of the year. They live off their fat reserves from 5 ½ to 7 ½ months as they migrate from their tropical breeding ground to the Antarctic to feed on krill.
Whales are able to reach amazing depths. The sperm whales can descend over 2,000 meters (7,000 feet) in search of giant squid. Other whales will bubbles feed. This involves whales cooperatively blowing bubbles that encircle their prey. As the prey won’t cross through the bubbles, they’re trapped, making it easy for the whales to eat them.
Whales are often caught in nets. Over 80% of North Atlantic whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once in their lifetime. They often get caught many times during their life.
Did you knew that Killer whales are actually dolphins? The Orcas are the largest member of the dolphins’ families. They are the ocean top predators and their food include fish, penguins, seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals such as seals and other whales.
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