Whales

Whales - Cetaceans

The whale is the largest and most majestic animal to ever inhabit our planet. Originally a land dwelling four-legged creature that returned to the waters we all evolved from millions of years ago, they now populate the earth’s oceans. 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.

Despite an overwhelming majority vote amongst the Earth's population to protect the whales, there are still some nations that kill them for money. Help stop this senseless killing. Learn and educate yourself with facts about whales and begin to understand this majestic animal and how it shares the world we reside in.

Whales 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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Whales have always held a distinct fascination for human beings. Research and folklore meet on a platform of this intense interest in these magnificent animals, as has been confirmed by ageless tales that have survived the last few decades, even centuries. Whales have been used to signify love, grace and intelligence in culture and folk tales. However, whales also have significance in our unconscious dreams.

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Whales experience adolescence between their weaning and the time of their reaching sexual maturity. The actual ages at which these stages are achieved depend very much on the whales species in question. Baleen whales are weaned between eight and ten months of age, while toothed whales depend on mother's milk for up to three years. Weaning means that these calves are no longer reliant on their mother's nutrient-rich milk.

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Image of a Fin Whale Whales have long been esteemed by the human race. Their often-awesome scale is juxtaposed by their slow, quiet nature, and their irrefutable insight. Their means of communicating with one another and their demonstration of distinctly human characteristics continues to fascinate researchers as they delve further into these magnificent creatures and their psyche.

The common term “whales” often excludes the smaller species, such as porpoises and dolphins. However, the fact remains that these are, essentially, part of the cetacean family and should be included in the terminology. The largest animal ever to have lived, as far as scientific knowledge extends, is the Blue Whale, which reaches a length of just under 33 metres.

Whales are split into two main categories; toothed and baleen. As their name would imply, toothed whales have a distinct set of teeth and include orcas, dolphins and the Sperm Whale. These animals feed on fish, squid and even larger mammals, such as seals (depending on their own size). Baleen whales have baleen plates that act as filters in their mouths, rather than teeth. They draw water and food into their mouths and then filter the food from the water by pushing it through their plates. The Blue and Humpback whales are excellent examples of baleen whales.

Whales are mammals and, therefore, have lungs rather than gills. They decide when to breathe, and come to the surface to do so through a blowhole on the top of their heads. They also surface to breach (lifting their bodies partially out of the water) and slap the water with their tails in impressive displays.

Whales 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.

Unfortunately, whales have long been hunted for their valuable meat as well as their fat or oil, their baleen plates and even the ambergris of the Sperm Whale (used in the production of perfume). Whaling, particularly before regulations were passed in many places in the world, ensured that some species were almost completely decimated. In the 1900’s alone, over 2 million whales were slaughtered.

Many environmental organisations are working hard now to preserve and propagate the valuable whales we have remaining in waters all over the world.