Top 10 Facts About Whales
1. WHALES ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN GROUPS
There are two main types of whales: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales like humpbacks and blue whales have special plates called ‘baleen’ in their mouths instead of teeth. These plates help them eat lots of tiny animals like krill, fish, and crustaceans called copepods. On the other hand, toothed whales like orcas, beluga, and sperm whales have teeth, which they use to catch larger prey such as fish and squid. Dolphins, including porpoises, are also considered whales because they are closely related to toothed whales.
2. HUMPBACK WHALES DON’T EAT FOR MOST OF THE YEAR
Humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere rely on their stored fat for about 5.5 to 7.5 months every year. They do this while traveling from warm breeding areas to the cold Antarctic region, where they feed on tiny sea creatures called krill.
3. ALL TOOTHED WHALES HAVE A ‘MELON’ IN THEIR FOREHEADS
The whale has a big bunch of tissue that helps it make sounds for talking and finding its way around. This is super important for them to talk to each other and figure out where they are. They use something called echolocation, kind of like how bats use sound to figure out what’s around them.
4. SOME WHALES USE BUBBLE NETTING TO FEED
Whales work together by blowing bubbles around their food. These bubbles make a kind of barrier that stops the food from escaping. This helps the whales catch their food without much effort.
5. THERE USED TO BE THOUSANDS OF BLUE WHALES IN THE ANTARCTIC
In the past, there were more than 225,000 Antarctic blue whales. But in the 1900s, they were hunted a lot. Now, there are only around 2,000 left in the whole world.
6. WHALES ARE OFTEN CAUGHT IN NETS
More than 85% of North Atlantic right whales have gotten stuck in fishing gear at least once in their life. Sometimes, they get caught multiple times.
7. USUALLY ONLY MALE NARWHALS HAVE A TUSK – THAT DEVELOPS FROM A TOOTH
The tusk of a narwhal is used for various tasks like finding food, breaking ice, showing who’s boss, and maybe even fighting. It’s also handy as a sensory tool to sense changes in the saltiness of the ocean nearby.
8. THE NAME ‘NARWHAL’ COMES FROM OLD NORSE
The name “orca” means “corpse whale” because their skin color looks like that of a sailor who drowned. Their scientific name means “one tooth, one horn” because they have a single tooth and horn-like feature.
9. THE ANTARCTIC BLUE WHALE IS THE LARGEST ANIMAL ON THE PLANET
The Antarctic blue whale is the largest of all blue whales and the biggest animal on Earth. It can weigh up to 180 tons, which is about as heavy as 36 elephants, and grow up to 30 meters long. These whales eat about 4 tons of krill every day!
10. KILLER WHALES ARE ACTUALLY DOLPHINS
Orcas, also called “killer whales,” are the biggest dolphins. They’re super predators in the ocean, hunting lots of different sea creatures like fish, penguins, seabirds, sea turtles, squids, and even bigger marine animals like seals and whales.
