Flash
19/2/24
World Whale Day
World Whale Day is a day to celebrate and learn about whales. Unfortunately many species of whale are endangered so it is important we know more about them and help support the ways endangered animals like these are being protected.
Whales are mammals, which means they have a backbone. They have to rise to the surface to breathe air unlike other sea creatures and breathe through their blowholes on top of their heads. There are two types of whale, which are baleen whales and toothed whales. They include the incredible Blue Whale, the biggest creature on Earth, Narwhals which have a horn like a unicorn and even dolphins, which are also actually a type of whale. Did you know that? Lets find out more about Baleen and Toothed Whales for World Whale Day…
Whales live underwater but have to come up to the surface to breathe.
Female whales are called cows, male whales are called bulls and babies are called calves
Whales breathe through blow holes on the top of their head.
Baleen Whales
There are 15 species of baleen whale. They are much larger than toothed whales, in fact some baleen whales are absolutely huge! Mostly they will be found alone and will often migrate great distances seeking food and warmer waters. They have baleen plates instead of teeth which are a bit like the bristles on a brush and act like a sieve. They allow the whales to take big gulps of sea water containing their prey, such a shoals of fish, and then filter the water back out. Baleen whales have two blow holes on top of their heads.
Blue Whale
The Blue Whale is the biggest creature to have ever lived on Earth. It is absolutely huge! The longest Blue Whales recorded have been around 30 metres long. It is an endangered species because of years of hunting by humans, almost to the point of extinction. Even now, despite a ban on hunting and years trying to protect the species there is thought to only be a few thousand left roaming the oceans all across the world.
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales are known for being very vocal and males are said to sing to attract female humpback whales, with their singing being heard from miles away. They also enjoy jumping out of the water, which is called breaching. This is something that many whales do, although not all and not as much as Humpback Whales. They spend their time in colder waters, feeding on small sea creatures in huge amounts and then migrate huge distances to tropical waters to give birth to their young. Humpback Whales are thought to travel the furthest than any other whales during their annual migration.
A Blue Whale is so big its heart is the size of a car!
Can you see the whales baleen plates?
All whales have to come up to the surface to breathe and then they dive straight back into the water.
Toothed Whales
Toothed whales include whales, beluga and narwhals, dolphins and porpoises. Although it can be confusing, dolphins are whales but not all whales are dolphins! There are 77 species of toothed whales. Toothed whales generally are much smaller than baleen whales, although sperm whales are quite big! Toothed whales are very social and live in groups called pods. They are thought to be incredibly intelligent creatures and have large brains. They have teeth, hence their name, and more purposely hunt and attack their prey. They have a special sonar sense which helps them to track down their prey which is incredibly clever. While baleen whales have two blow holes, toothed whales have one on top of their head.
Sperm Whale
Sperm Whales are the largest species of toothed whale. They are another whale species that is endangered. They have large square shaped heads which actually make up a third of their whole body and also have the largest brain of a toothed whale so they are thought to be very clever. Although they are toothed whale they actually have very few teeth! They can actually swallow quite big prey whole so its not necessarily a problem! Despite whales needing to come up to the surface to breathe Sperm Whales are thought to dive very deep near to the ocean floor and can last under the water for almost two hours before needing to come to the surface.
Narwhal
Narwhals can be found living in the cold waters around the Arctic. Unlike many species of whale they don’t migrate and instead spend their whole time living in icy conditions. Their most obvious feature is the massive spiral horn they have that almost looks like a long unicorn horn! These horns are found on the male narwhals and occasionally females too. Their horns are made out of the same material as a tooth and can grow to up to about three metres long! It is thought they use this horn to communicate with others and sense what’s going on in the waters around them.
Orca
Orcas are often called Killer Whales. They are the largest species of dolphin. Some sub species of Orcas are endangered. They can be found living in every ocean all around the world. Orcas look really quite cute but they are one of the oceans top predators and will prey on many sea creatures for food, including seals, sea lions, penguins and even other whales. Their colouring helps them blend into their surroundings, the black disguises them in the water from anything looking down and their white tummy blends in with the light coming from the surface from anything looking up. This makes it easier for them to sneak up to their prey. They often will work together in their pod to attack and together can even defeat a larger creature so it becomes dinner!
Sperm Whales may have a huge head but their jaw is tiny in comparison.
Narwhal's have a unicorn type horn on their head. Can you see it?
An Orca is a species of toothed whale.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots, Public Domain and Shutterstock images.