Whale....The Biggest of All Animals

A huge Whale in comparison with two boats in the background.

Whale is a huge marine animal which lives in the water. Whales look like fish but in actual they are not regarded as fish by scientists and experts. They swim like fish. But they aren't fish at all. In fact they are 'aquatic mammals'. 'Aquatic' means animals or plants which live in water while mammals are warm-blooded creatures that give birth to their young ones and feed them on their milk.

A huge sperm whale with a diver nearby

Whales can't stay under the water all the time as fish do.  This is because they do not have gills to breathe under water. They have to come up for air from time to time. According to the experts whale can spend only 5 to 15 minutes under water at a time only. They breath through blow-holes at the top of their heads. When their warm breath hits the colder air outside, it makes a cloud of mist in the air. People name this cloud of mist as whale's 'spout'. In the open sea you can spot a whale by its spout.

The whale spout as seen from a whale watching boat.

Just like human being whales use lungs and noses to breathe air but because they live in the water their noses and lungs work differently from those of human beings. You may also be amazed to know that whales don’t breathe as often as we do; they breathe only when they are on the surface of the ocean.

Whale's steamy spout visible from far away boat.

That means they have to take in and let out a lot of air quickly at a time after specific intervals which range from 5 to 15 minutes. Their lung muscles are so strong that they can force almost all the air out at once. At a time only one breath is sufficient to empty their lungs. In contrast, one of our breaths empties only part of our lungs. 

The Killer Whale which looks very much similar to a dolphin.

When a whale comes to the surface after a dive, it breathes out the “old” air quickly, all in one breath. Because of the amazing force applied by its lungs, the air travels a great distances – 10 to 20 and sometimes even 40 feet high. And because its nose is on the top of its head, the air goes straight up. This air is usually warmer than the air just above the surface of the ocean, so the water vapor condenses.

The rear fin of a huge whale with the beautiful setting sun in the background.

This condensed water vapor looks like steam – the same thing happens when we “see our breath” on a cold winter day. So the “spout” we see is not a fountain of water; rather, it’s a stream of warm air being forced out of the whales lungs. Some whale watch guides can tell you the kind of whale even before they see the animal, only by seeing the height and shape of their spout.

Aquatic birds find food from the skin of whale, they feed on the lice populated on its body.

Fish can't make sounds. But whales can make two kinds of sounds. Sometimes like a bark, or a whistle or a scream. Whales make these sounds to communicate with each other. Some whales also make very loud or low sounds that other whales can hear from many kilometers away. This sound can be heard only under water.

A marvelous whale shark among a large variety of other fish.

The biggest whale of all is the blue whale. It can be more than 30 metres long and weigh more than 100 tonnes. That's more than ten large buses put together! Even a baby blue whale is huge enough to surprise you.

Whale shark swimming with its mouth wide open to capture food.

Finding food is a simple matter for blue whales. They just swim along with their huge mouths open, and thousands of tiny sea creatures flow in. Another amazing thing about blue whales is that they have no teeth at all. Instead, they have scales like strings of hardened skin, very much like our fingernails, that hang from the roof of their mouth. This bardened skin is called 'baleen' and is used as a strainer to let out the water while holding back the sea creatures captured in the whale's mouth.

A huge dead whale stuck ashore.

Some whales leave the water and park themselves on a beach. They may stay there so long that they die.

Strangely, other whales often join the 'beached' whale - possibly to keep the first one company.

Interesting Facts about whales:

*....Sperm Whales have the largest brain on the planet, that  may weigh up to 20 pounds.

*....The fin whale is one of the fastest whales on earth. They can swim over 20 miles per hour but only for short periods.

*....The harbor porpoise is considered as the smallest whales on earth. They grow only about 5 feet in length.

*....Killer whales are the largest dolphins. They look and behave very much like dolphins and get their identity of "Killer" because they sometimes eat other, larger whales.

*....A humpback whale needs so much food on daily basis that it may eat up to a ton of food every day.

*....Whales can't breathe through their mouths because their mouth is directly connected to their stomach. They breathe through their blow holes, which go to the lungs directly.

*....A sperm whale can hold its breath for at least an hour.

*....The voice of the blue whale is one of the deepest and most powerful voices on earth that can travel for about a hundred miles underwater.

*....The blubber on a whale which lives in very cold water may reach up to 20 inches thick. It is a fine insulator and  emergency food store.

*....The weight of a new born baby blue whale may be two tons its length about 25 feet.

Skeleton of a whale on exhibit in a museum.

*....Some whales have baleen in place of teeth. The largest baleen is that of the bowhead whale, which may be up to 10 feet long.

*....Narwhales have only two teeth, one of which is hidden under the gums. In the males the other tooth sticks out from their heads like a tusk, which may grow up to 8 feet in length.

*....whales have an ability to swim at a great speed which ranges from 28 to 33 miles per hour

*.... Most of the whales need to eat 50-150 kilograms of meat every day.

A beached whale which looks no less than a small mountain of flesh

*.... Plastic bags, balloons, chemicals, oil spills and other kinds of marine pollution may prove a threat for whales.

*.... The largest record of female whales killed on Antarctica was 106 feet long and could weigh as much as 400,000 pounds.

*.... The largest male ever killed in Antarctica was 104 feet long and was killed on 1926