Our most common whale species are harbour porpoise, white-beaked dolphin, minke whale, humpback whale and blue whale.
Sperm whales are characterized by their large heads and long bodies that grow up between 50-55 feet long on average. This is equivalent to about 1.5 school buses in length. Sperm whales are the fourth largest whale species, weighing in around 80,000 lbs. The humpback can grow up to 52 feet and weigh nearly 60,000 lbs.
The worldwide population of common bottlenose dolphins is about 600,000.
Many humpback whale populations, previously devastated by commercial whaling, are making a comeback. The ban of commercial whaling in 1986 led to a strong recovery and now this population is thought to be around 93% of its original size.
In the western North Pacific, the most recent (partial) abundance estimate accepted by the IWC is now around 26,000. The only other reliable estimate of abundance (around 13,000) in the late 1980s) is for the eastern tropical Pacific. For more information about Bryde's whales click here.
The Pacific population is found off the west coast of Canada; it migrates past Vancouver Island in spring and fall. The Blue whale population off Mexico and California is estimated to be between 1,500 and 3,000, but no accurate count has been made of the western Canadian population.
Whales, along with dolphins and porpoises, are warm-blooded mammals and breathe air like humans do. There are some significant differences between whales and fish: Whales are warm blooded. Fish are cold blooded.
The only whale that would likely be capable of swallowing a human would be a toothed whale, the sperm whale, which eats prey such as giant squid. A sperm whale did ram and sink the whale ship Essex in 1820, but there are no reliable reports of a sperm whale ever eating a human.
Sharks are not mammals as they do not possess any of the characteristic features that define a mammal. For instance, they are not warm-blooded. Sharks are considered a species of fish, but unlike most fishes, a sharks' skeleton is made of cartilage. Sharks are carnivores and they feed on other smaller fish.
Females, referred to as "cows", carry the responsibility of childcare as males, referred to as "bulls", play no part in raising calves. Most mysticetes reside at the poles.
Despite a moratorium on commercial whaling and a ban on international trade of whale products, three countries—Iceland, Japan, and Norway—continue their commercial whale hunts. Over 1,000 whales a year are killed for such commercial purposes.
Sharks are a special type of fish known because their body is made out of cartilage instead of bones like other fish. The classification of this type of fish is "elasmobranch." This category also includes rays, sawfish, and skates.
Observations of bottlenose dolphins in aquariums and zoos, and of whales and dolphins in the wild, show two basic methods of sleeping: they either rest quietly in the water, vertically or horizontally, or sleep while swimming slowly next to another animal.
A: Whales are marine mammals that might be more similar to humans than you might think. Humans and whales both need to breathe air, are warm-blooded and give birth without laying eggs. A baby whale inside its mother has a cord that connects mother and baby, just like humans have.
A new study of elusive Cuvier's beaked whales shows they can dive to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). A new long-term study looking at the elusive Cuvier's beaked whale reveals the deepest and longest dives ever seen among mammals.
Sperm whales are named after the spermaceti – a waxy substance that was used in oil lamps and candles – found on their heads.
First thing's first: all dolphins are whales, but not all whales are dolphins. That's because the Cetacean order of sea animals encompasses dolphins, porpoises and what we think of as whales.
Natural CausesTheir lifespan ranges from a few decades for harbour porpoises to over 200 years in case of bowhead whales. They can also die from predation from killer whales, polar bears or from sharks. Furthermore, live individuals can die naturally from asphyxiation during individual and mass stranding events.
Whales live in all the world's oceans, communicating through complex and beautiful sounds. And they're massive; the blue whale can weigh as much as 200 tons, making it the largest animal on the planet.
How much does a blue whale weigh?
Orcas have developed a reputation for preying on baleen whales, a group that includes blue, fin and humpback whales among others. They have been recorded attempting to attack almost every species, and also sperm whales, the largest species of toothed whale. Many don't hunt whales at all.
