Learn Some New Whales Facts
By Andrew Keet | August 14, 2009 | Popularity: 1% (?)
The whale holds quite the intrigue of us humans. We admire their size, beauty, intelligence, and playfulness. But here are some whales facts that are quite interesting.
Cetaceans are the family of animals that whales belong to. This also includes porpoises and dolphins. They are the only mammals that live their entire life under the waters of the sea except for manatees. Being mammals, they are warm-blooded, breathe air through a blowhole, and give live birth. The average blue whale is about 94 feet in length, making it the largest creature to ever exist. The smallest would be the dwarf sperm whale at 8 feet.
Cetaceans are classified into two groups. These are toothed and baleen. Toothed predators use their peg-like teeth to spear fish and smaller marine animals. They swallow them whole after they find them through echolocation. This group consists of about 66 species. Baleen groups swim through the sea and use a comb-like structure to filter out food like krill. There are roughly 10 species of these.
These creatures have their own very unique set of behaviors. To rest, they will log, which means they just float along the surface. They will sometimes lift their bodies out of the water to their fins and look around, called spyhopping. If there is danger around, a whale might lobtail, slapping the water hard with their tail to make a loud noise. When they are playful, they will often breach, leaping high out of the sea and splashing back down again.
The whale also is known for its singing. They have very haunting and complex songs. They can last up to an hour at times when sung by the blue! The sounds range from whistles and clicks to low frequencies. There are several reasons for this particular behavior. It is employed to communicate with its pod, attract a mate, and even to express grief or excitement. They can be heard literally for miles through the water!
Did these whales facts teach you anything you did not know? These are certainly a fascinating group of animals. Their beauty and sized truly inspire admiration.
Over the last fifty years Andrew Keet has been gathering whale facts while staying on the East Coast of South Africa and watching whales.
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MLA Style Citation:
Keet, Andrew "Learn Some New Whales Facts." Learn Some New Whales Facts. 14 Aug. 2009. www.uberarticles.com. 17 Mar 2010 <http://www.uberarticles.com/miscellaneous/wildlife/learn-some-new-whales-facts>.
APA Style Citation:
Keet, A (2009, August 14). Learn Some New Whales Facts. Retrieved March 17, 2010, from http://www.uberarticles.com/miscellaneous/wildlife/learn-some-new-whales-facts
Chicago Style Citation:
Keet, Andrew "Learn Some New Whales Facts" www.uberarticles.com. http://www.uberarticles.com/miscellaneous/wildlife/learn-some-new-whales-facts
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