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Whale Shark Botubarani Gorontalo.jpg Photo by M.akbar.raf –

15 Interesting Facts About Whales

Whales are open ocean mammals that have the capacity to multiply by giving birth. They mate and feed just like other underwater animals but they are unique in that they suckle and rise their young ones in the ocean. They are found in deep waters and do not fit well in shallow waters. There are different types of whales some of which are humpback whales, southern right whales, Baleen whales, dwarf sperm whales, and blue whales. The blue whale is the largest known in world history. Whales vary in size of whales from 2.6 meters which are interpreted as 8.5 feet and weigh 135 kilograms otherwise 298 ib while others are 29.9 meters and equivalent to 98 feet and weigh 190 tonnes. This article explains these types of whales and how their behavior in water.

Click here to read more about other types of whales.

1. The Evolution of Whales

Mother and baby sperm whale.jpg Photo by Gabriel Barathieu –

Whales are known to be the descendants of land-dwelling mammals and are related to  Indohyus. They split from chevrotain-like ungulate many million years ago. It is estimated that whales came into being 48 million years ago. Due to the fact they were once land-living mammals, they survive in deep waters by breathing through getting off the waters. In addition, they are mammals that can survive for a long time under the water.

2. The Anatomy of Whales

Whales have non-existent ear flaps. They have large fins and are flat-headed. In addition, they have small eye orbits. More importantly, they have non-flexible necks and further, limbs that ate modified into flippers. What’s more, whales have long snouts, with a further eye placed on the sides of its head. They are usually in different sizes and weigh differently depending on age and type. What is important to note is that blue whales are the largest found on earth. They breathe by expelling stale air from the blowhole which forms an upward, steamy spout that allows for fresh air to be inhaled into the lungs. In addition, their stomach has a three-chamber that relates to a similar structure to the terrestrial carnivores.

3. Baleen or Mysticeti Whales

Another type of whale is known as the Baleen whale. The unique part about this type of whale is that they use their whalebone located in the mouth to sieve planktonic creatures from the water. In addition, Mysticeti has various families which have right and bowhead,  rorquals, gray,  and the pygmy right whale.  In total, there are sixteen species of baleen whales. They are differentiated from other whales by the fact that they have large bodies. They compose of a fin whale that is the fastest in the family of baleen whales. The most important point to note is that Baleen whales use their baleen plates to filter out food from the water. The Baleen whales have fused necks that cannot turn their heads.

4. The Odontoceti Whales

These are toothed whales that rely on their sonar to find their way in the water. In addition, they depend on their flippers and tail fin to sail through the water which is also facilitated by their fore-flippers and the movement up and down of the tail fin. They have thoracic vertebrae and ribs loosely articulated which help them with deep dives.

5. Their Smooth Locomotion Under the Water

Plettenberg Bay Bryde’s Whales 31.jpg Photo by Ad Meskens –

Due to their tail fina and the two flippers on the front, they swim smoothly with their front slightly above the water to allow breathing. They are very fast with speeds of approximately 35 kilometers per hour in the case of the sperm whales. In addition, fin whales cover a speed of 47 kilometers per hour. What is unique about whales and their swimming skills is that their flippers are used in steering while the tail fin and lower body propel them helping their vertical movement.

6. Whales Senses have Unique Purpose 

Specifically, whales have adapted to the marine environment and receive their sound through the throat to the inner ear. The hearing underwater is assisted by the air-filled pockets which are isolated from the skull. In addition, the eyes are located on the side of the head for the best visibility. Therefore whales are able to see both during the day and at night rather in both dim and bright light though limited to color vision.

7. Whales have good Communication Among themselves

Humpback is one type of whale that uses melodic sounds to communicate. These are known as whale songs which can be very loud. These sounds may be extremely loud subject to the species. For instance, when humpback whales are teething, they click, this generates approximately 20,000 watts of sound that can be heard miles away. In addition, captive whales have the skills of mimicking human speech, a move seen by scientists as a desire by whales to communicate with people. Whales can easily mimic whistles from human beings.

Read more about other types of fish here.

8. The Cetacean Intelligence

Whale breaching in Alaska 2016-07-04.jpg Photo by Navin75 –

The most interesting activity that people love watching whales is their skills to teach, learn, cooperate, scheme, and grieve. They are intelligent with a brain that is homologous, just like humans.  This is a fact they scientists believe that they perform a similar function. In addition, sperm whales have a very large largest brain mass. It measures approximately 8,000 cubic centimeters and 7.8 kilograms, a study done on grown-up whales.  

9. Complex Play Behaviour

Gray Whale Spyhopping courtesy of Marc Webber USFWS.jpg Photo by Marc Webber/USFWS – Wikimedia Commons

Small whales are more stable underwater and seem like they enjoy biting the vortex rings. In addition, they burst into separate bubbles and quickly rise to the surface. Scientists have proved that this is a way of communication. All whales play and seem to enjoy the dives with southern right whale elevating their tail fluke far above the waters. They are able to remain in that position for some time before diving back into the deep sea. This kind of whale game is common off the coast of South Africa and Argentina. 

10. Courtship and Reproduction

Whales 1 (4339507676).jpg Photo by Mike from the United States of America –

Whales are common in the deep waters in particular the Arctic or Antarctic. During the winter and spring, they are normally in the tropics to mate, calve, and raise. They retreat to the south and north poles during the summer months whereby the calves grow. Their birth and courtship behaviors are not like any other sea animals, rather, they go into the land to clave. Whales deliver one calf with pregnancies lasting about a year.  For a calf to grow, it takes seven to ten years. This also varies according to the whale’s species.

11. It is Fascinating how Whales Sleep

Whales do not have prolonged sleep. The reason is, they can drown. In addition, toothed cetaceans are known to alternate their brain to sleep at different times. They multi-task during their sleep, meaning that they breathe consciously and swim. In addition to their sleep, they avoid social contact and predators. However, sperm whales have a different way of sleeping. According to scientific findings, they sleep vertically in passive shallow drift dives under the surface. They sleep only during the day.

Read more about other types of fish here.

12. Human Threats to Whales

Marine pollution is a major threat to whales as organic chemicals built up in their bodies causing gastrointestinal cancers and other infectious diseases. Plastic in water is another risk that whales suffer when they swallow. In addition to marine pollution, humans are the main threat in a situation where unintentionally they net whales while fishing. Whales are also caught by fishing hooks which is a risk to their lives. Apart from fishing, military sonar affects the biological functions of whales in feeding. Mating whales cannot happen when there is human interference. The sailing exercise of human beings and also the ship in most cases collide and kill whales.

13. Whale Watching is a Tourists Attraction

Statistics show that approximately 13 million peopled went whale watching globally in 2008 with a turnover of US$2,1 billion in tourism revenue in the world. Some of the countries that have benefitted from this tourism include Iceland, Japan, and Norway.

14. The History of The Whaling Industry

Globally, whales have been in existence for the longest in world history. Whaling in particular in the Arctic Ocean dates back to the 11th century. In the 17th, 18th, and subsequently 19th centuries European countries focused on whales as their income. The countries that mainly used whales as their source of income include France, Spain, Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. The fishing ships in the Artic almost caused conflicts as they searched for whales in the deep waters. The United States of America and Australia are other countries that have benefitted from the whales business dating back to the early 1790s. The United States of America’s profits hit $11,000.000 in the 1850s from whale business alone.

15. Cetaceans In Captivity

In the 20th century, Canada became the most marked influence on Beluga whales while other types of whales became rare in the world. In addition, second to Canada was Russia are world’s greatest supplier of beluga whales. In the meantime, Canada was banned from further supply in 1992 due to the scarcity of the specimen. Additionally, Canada has reserved 30 while the United States captured and reserved 28 in 2006. 

There are more types of fish that one could read about here.