When you see the word Whales, it simply includes all cetaceans. This can be found in the likes of porpoises, dolphins and whales. These animals are different in their sizes and can range from a few feet long to over one hundred cubits. Some whales live in coastal environments and most spend their existence offshore around the pelagic zone.
In this content, you will discover some amazing whale facts that most people may not know.
1. Viewing Whales From The Sea Or Land Is Possible: It has become a well-known pastime activity to watch whales along several coasts across the globe. For instance, gray whales can be found in the coasts of California during fall and spring migrations. During the winter breading season, humpback whales can be seen in Hawaii. Watching whales either from the sea or land is possible in many nations across the globe.
2. Whales Are Identified As Mammals: Studies have shown that whales are warm-blooded or endothermic. While whales spend all their life in cold water, they also have the same body temperature as human beings. Whales can nurse their young, give birth to the same species and breathe air. Whales have hair which remains a common feature to mammals such as humans.
3. People Still Hunt For Whales: Whales are still hunted by people even while experiencing the end of the heyday of whaling. For scientific research and aboriginal substance purposes, the highest authority regulating whaling has allowed whales to be hunted. People hunt for whales through several methods such as pollution, fisheries bycatch, ship strikes and much more.
4. There Are Over Eighty Species Of Whales: At the moment, experts have been able to recognize about eighty-six species of whales. From the massive blue whale to the small dolphin, you can always find more species available. The largest animal on the face of the earth as recorded is the blue whale.
5. Whales Can Reproduce One Calf At A Time : For whales to reproduce, it will take the conjugation of a female and a male to mate. The process of mating for whales can be done belly-to-belly. Once the mating process is over, the female whale will now be pregnant for a space of one year. When the female whale gives birth, it is nothing but a calf.
6. Whales Have Two Major Groups: Whales are categorically divided into two major groups. There are toothed and baleen whales based on their normal mode of feeding. This is among one of the whale facts that most people cannot still comprehend.
7. Whales Can Live For A Long Time: It may not be possible to read the age of a whale simply by looking at it. Nevertheless, there are other several ways that can help you tell the age of a whale. For instance, the aspartic acid in a whales eyes or ear plugs in baleen whales can help you determine its age. Bowhead has been known to be the longest-living species and may have lived for other two hundred years old.
8. Whales Are The Biggest Animals On The Planet: The largest animals in the globe are found in the cetacean order. The fin whale can grow for a space of eighty-eight feet long. The blue whale is the biggest animal with a length of over one hundred feet.
9. Excellent Hearing System In Whales : The most important senses that a whale display excellently is hearing. Excellent hearing is highly important in the underwater world where sound travels fast and visibility remains variable. Whales can hear sound even from the slightest corner of their existence.
10. While Sleeping Whales Of Rest Half Of Their Brain: Whales have a strange way of sleeping. Studies have revealed that a whale cannot breathe underwater. This means that whales need to be alive and active every time to get to the surface of the water to breathe. On this note, a whale will rest half of its brain when sleeping to keep up with breathing activity.