S E L A H W
by Yalena Hume
CONTENT TABLE What is a whale? Blue Whale Brydes Whale Fin Whale Humpback Whale Killer Whale
WHALES WH AT
LE A H W IS A
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al m i n a s ti c n d e j a m t o s n a l l y a l a th e m d n a st et. O ri g i tu rn ed to g o, e g r a l th e i t ou r pl a n re th a t re f yea rs a s i e l a Th e twohever i n h al ebg g ed creaotmu m i l l i on ss oocea n s. u r- vol ved fr h e ea rth ’ o f g n i l l d we ers we a l l e popu l a te t wa t th e y n o w The oceans once teemed with these wonderful mammals that, like us, breath oxygen, give birth to live offspring and have a complex family- and social structure. But their numbers were decimated by humans for profit and many whale species were driven to the brink of extinction and are still in grave danger of vanishing forever.
These mammals are particularly intelligent mammals and like humans, place much value on their families and the role that each member plays within the unit. Notably, the individual families also travel and migrate together in pods and each family member continues to play a vital role within that pod, as a greater unit of the family. These groups demonstrate the sociable nature of whales, and their unspoken cooperation with one another is evidence of the insight and sense of responsibility of the animals.
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These mammals communicate with one another using whale songs, which often sound very high-pitched to the human ear. These songs are unique and fascinating when considered in more detail.
THE BLUE WHALE The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived on Earth and is the largest mammal in the world. These massive creatures are hefty from the moment they are born and continue to add to their girth throughout their first year. A blue whale calf weighs two tons (1 ,81 4 kilograms) at birth and gains an extra 200 pounds (91 kilograms) each day of its first year.
BRYDES WHALE The Brydes whale is the least known and the more unusual of the family Balaenoptiidae (Rorquals, whales with throat grooves). They are deep divers, and are seldom seen in groups. Their diet consists of pilchard, mackerel, herring, anchovies, shrimp,crabs, and lobsters and sometimes octopus, squid, and cuttlefish. They are the second smallest of the rorquals (1 2 meters on average), the Minke Whale being the smallest (about 8.5 meters). Brydes whales have two blow holes on top of their head. As of 1 986, they are a protected species worldwide and currently not endangered.
FIN WHALE The fin whale is the second largest animal in the world, and that is no small accomplishment. You have likely heard them called the razorback which his a common nickname. This is due to the grooves and plates that design their bodies. They are more than 70 feet in length and believed to weigh about 1 50,000 pounds. There has never been a successful weigh in of these mammals so that is just an estimate. You will notice that the Fin Whale features a dorsal fin and flippers. It also has a wide tail with a notch at the center of it. The Fin Whale is very symmetrical which is a characteristic that you won’t often find among whales.
HUMPBACK WHALE
Humpback Whales are mammals belonging to the baleen whale suborder and can be found in oceans and seas around the world. They are well known for breaching, and their complex songs. The name humpback whale describes the motion it makes as it arches its back out of the water in preparation for a dive. Humpback Whale can be easily identified by their stocky body with obvious humps and black upper parts. The head and lower jaw are covered with small, round bumps on the front of the head called knobs or tubercles, and are characteristic of the species.
KILLER WHALE Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches (ten centimeters) long. They are known to grab seals right off the ice. They also eat fish, squid, and seabirds.
Though they often frequent cold, coastal waters, orcas can be found from the polar regions to the Equator. Whales make a wide variety of communicative sounds, and each pod has distinctive noises that i ts members will recognize even at a distance. They use echolocation to communicate and hunt, making sounds that travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back, revealing their location, size, and shape.
The previous information was taken from the following sources:
-http://www.whales.org.za/Default.aspx -http://www.abc.net.au/oceans/whale/ch ar.htm -http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/ animals/mammals/killer-whale/ -http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids /animals/creaturefeature/blue-whales/ -http://www.whale-world.com/finwhale.html -http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/anim als/mammals/Cetacea/Balaenopteridae /Balaenoptera/Balaenoptera-edeni.html