3. Whales
• Whales are the largest animals on Earth and
they live in every ocean. The massive
mammals range from the 600-pound dwarf
sperm whale to the colossal blue whale,
which can weigh more than 200 tons and
stretch up to 100 feet long—almost as long as
a professional basketball court.
4. Where are whales found?
• Whales can be found inhabiting all of the worlds
major oceans from the Arctic and
Antarctic oceans to the tropical waters in and
around the center of the equator. Depending on
species and migration patterns some whales may
be found particularly abundant in some locations
while completely absent in others.
•
5. What are whales known for?
• The blue whale is the largest animal that ever
lived and can grow to 90 or more feet and
weigh as much as 24 elephants! ...
• Beluga whales have flexible necks, allowing
them to move their heads. ...
• Gray whales make one of the longest annual
migrations of any mammal: they travel about
10,000 miles (16,000 km) round trip!
6. How many type of whales are there?
• There are 76 toothed whale
species altogether and they are grouped into
ten families: the sperm whale; the dwarf and
pygmy sperm whale; the beluga and narwhal;
the beaked whales; the oceanic dolphins; the
four river dolphins (each one is placed in a
family of their own); and the porpoise family.
7. Types of whale
• Blue Whale
• Southern right whale
• Sei whale
• Humpback whale
• Minke whale
• Fin whale
• Sperm whale
• Killer whale - Orca
8. Blue Whale
• The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine
mammal belonging to the baleen whale suborder
Mysticeti.
• The largest animals ever to have lived, dwarfing even
the largest dinosaurs, all figures about blue whales are
awesome. Their circulatory system pumps 10 tonnes of
blood through its body using a heart the size of a small
car. A child could crawl down the whales' main blood
vessel, the aorta. In its development, a blue whale calf
can drink 50 gallons of its mother's milk and gain
200lbs per day!
9. Southern right whale
• The name was given by the early whalers because
they were the "right" whales to kill. They have
large amounts of oil, blubber and baleen or
whalebone, they are slow swimming (easy to
catch), are often found close to shore and float
when killed.
• Right whales have a large bulbous head and lack
the streamlined shape of other whales. The head
has large callosities that are home to a whole
colony of whale barnacles, parasitic worms and
whale lice.
10. Sei whale
• These are among the more elusive of the larger
whales, not coming very close to land at any time
and not forming large groups or "schools". Sei is
pronounced "Say"
• They are found like many whales in both
Northern and Southern hemispheres following
the best feeding at different times of year. Only
the larger older individuals tend to go very far
south, they are relatively rare in Antarctica
11. Humpback whale
• So called because of the habit of raising and bending
the back in preparation for a dive, accentuating the
hump in front of the dorsal fin.
• Probably the best known of the large whales as they
often collect in groups near to land and draw attention
to themselves by their behavior. Breaching, lob-tailing
and flipper-slap are common and often occur several
times in a row.
• They are slow swimmers (allows tourist boats - and
whalers - to get close). Males at breeding time sing the
longest and most complex songs in the animal
kingdom.
12. Minke whale
• One of the smallest baleen or filter feeding
whales. Minke numbers are still quite healthy
due to whalers concentrating on larger, more
profitable species.
• Minkes are still hunted for "scientific" reasons
by Japan, and large quantities of the meat
turns up in expensive restaurants.
13. Fin whale
• The second largest after the blue whale, the
fastest swimming of all the large whales
(sometimes called the greyhound of the seas)
and the commonest large whale.
• Fin whales can produce sounds of 75-80dB at
around 100Hz which is very loud for an animal
source. In pre-propeller oceans this sound
could travel for well over a hundred
kilometers.
14. Sperm whales
• The name comes from the enormous bulbous
spermaceti organ in the head.
• Only males are found in Antarctic waters. Sperm
whales are toothed whales rather than filter
feeders and are the deepest and longest of all
whale divers catching giant squid in the dark
ocean depths.
• Unlike baleen whales, which form only temporary
bonds, sperm whales live in extended family units
that for the females are lifelong associations.
15. Killer Whales
• Also known as Orcas from their Latin name. They
are one of the most well known types of whales
thanks to their being held captive in marine
aquariums where they are taught to perform
tricks.
• Killer whales are toothed whales and top
carnivores in their food chain. Sometimes
referred to as "sea-wolves", they frequently hunt
in packs or "pods". Their tastes are wide ranging
from krill and fish to penguins, seals and even
much larger baleen whales.
