For the best experience, please use a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. ET on PBS you can tune in to see dolphins, sharks, sea otters, sea lions, seals, pelicans, shearwaters, and, hopefully, lots of whales. Killer whales, dolphins and beluga whales only sleep one hemisphere of the brain at a time so that they can breathe while resting – Source. Tiny prey collects on their vast baleen plates, which they then lick off for food. Female grey whales are slightly bigger than males. So why... 2. One whale lets out a feeding call, inciting the pod to swim together through the spiral and scoop up the fish. A long, skinny, smokestack-like puff is usually a blue whale or a fin whale. Whales prefer to mate and give birth there though, because of the lack of potential predators. In another of our guests blogs as part of #whaleweek, Natalie Kyriacou founder and CEO WDC partner, ‘My Green World’, highlights a few fascinating facts about beluga whales. But they’re descended from a long line of four-legged animals—including the remarkable-looking ambulocetus, or “walking whale”—a mammal that resembled a crocodile in shape. Whales have been hunted for their meat, bones and for medicinal purposes. Male humpback whales found in U.S. waters sing complex songs in winter breeding areas in waters near Hawaii, in the Caribbean, and elsewhere that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard miles away. 9. The ocean is a mysterious world in itself. Others, like humpbacks and blue whales, are “lunge feeders” who take in huge gulps of water that they then push out through smaller baleen to sieve for food. There are 14 baleen whales, 3 sperm whales, 22 beaked whales, 2 monodontidae (narwhal and beluga), 38 oceanic dolphins, 4 river dolphins and 7 porpoises. 5 Fun Facts about Whale Sharks January 15, 2019. Sperm whales have the most efficient respiratory system, allowing them to spend up to 90 minutes underwater. The Blue Whale is the biggest one out there. The way the sound waves bounce off of nearby objects allows the whales to detect nearby prey with remarkable detail—they can even sense the texture of the fish they’re “looking” at. Killer whales, just like their dolphin cousins, communicate through underwater sounds with one another. 01 Whales are the world’s largest animals. Sperm whales were almost driven to extinction by commercial whalers who sought the whales’ blubber and the unique oil derived from the “spermaceti organ” found in their massive heads. Scientists estimate bowhead whales (a baleen whale found in the Arctic) can live for more than 200 years, and killer whales (a toothed whale found in various habitats worldwide) can live for more than 100 years. To regulate their position in the water column, whales modulate the amount of air stored in an extra sac under their larynx. Baleen whale anatomy. They’re not just smart, though. The closest living relative to whales is the hippo, another aquatic mammal (though not to the same degree, of course). Fact 9: Sperm Whales have the largest brain on the planet. The exception is fin whales, which turn on their sides to feed. Whales are some of the most fascinating creatures that inhabit the waters of the Earth. 2. You might think that such huge animals—the average weight of a blue whale hovers around 420,000 pounds—subsisting on such tiny prey would have to eat constantly. High-toned voice. Facts about Blue Whales 1. For males, it plays a crucial role as an anchor for the penis. ANCIENT GREEKS THOUGHT WHALES WERE SEA MONSTERS.. Baleen whales, on the other hand, make very low frequency sounds with large wavelengths that don’t pick up on those fine details. Fact 10: Whales can't breathe through their mouths becuase the mouth is connected directly to the stomach. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean. Their complex communication repertoire of whistles, clicks, and chirps has prompted the nickname “canaries of the sea.” Learn more about the Cook Inlet beluga whale, a NOAA Fisheries Species in the Spotlight. The shortest whale song lasts 6 minutes and the longest - more than an hour. Sperm whales have 40 to 52 cone-shaped teeth, up to10 to 20cm (4 to 8in) long, in their narrow lower jaws only. The largest whale in the world was the blue whale at 30 meters and over 180 tonnes, whereas the smallest was the pygmy sperm whale at 3.5m. “When they want to eat something like a squid, they get really close to the squid and they suddenly depress a bone in their throat called the hyoid," Reidenberg says. That’s 24,000 pounds or nearly 11,000 kilos!! The baleen is made of keratin, like your hair or finger nails, and grew out of the same ridges that are also in human mouths. They have more than 3,000 teeth, but don’t actually use them to tear and eat flesh.They simply swallow and filter – highly efficient to swim along like a big fish-shaped scoop! Females whales give birth to a single calf once every three years on average and their newborns are around five ft. long, usually nursing from their mothers for up to two years. Baleen whales have a fringe on their upper jaw and this helps them to strain food out of the water. Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals.They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, usually excluding dolphins and porpoises.Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla, which consists of even-toed ungulates.Their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago. As a whale scientist at the Smithsonian, I can tell you that 2019 was an unusual year for learning about whales. 7. 10 Wonderful Whale Facts 1. Their coloration differs side to side and not top to bottom. Blue whales color isn’t really blue. As Reidenberg explains, some have “a tooth structure that’s not all that different from what you see in a crocodile or an alligator—lots of teeth, all the same shape, all lined up, all roughly the same size, and they just snap those teeth together to grab the fish.”, But other species, like the sperm whale, only have teeth on their bottom jaw, which makes it all but impossible to grab their food. The blue whale is the largest whale. Facts about Beluga Whale The Beluga Whale cannot only reach depths of 800 meters when they dive but their dives can last up to 25 minutes. Internet Explorer lacks support for the features of this website. Fast blue whale facts. Whale sharks are the largest fish on the planet – they can reach up to 14m (46 feet!) “They’re not eating the entire time they’re in the south,” Reidenberg says. At the end of every summer, there’s a resurgence of marine life in Monterey, Calif., as animals of all different species descend on Monterey Bay in search of readily available food. Whales are the only mammals on the planet, except humans, who sing. This intelligence and social awareness is what allows humpback whales to coordinate an elaborate feeding method, in which one whale surrounds a school of fish by swimming in a spiral and releasing bubbles that rise up and create a wall. 04 The heaviest weight ever recorded for a killer whale is 10,000 kilograms. ... 12. She is the author of The Ethiopian Wolf: Hope at the Edge of Extinction. As we celebrate Whale Week, take a look at some interesting tidbits and see if you learn something new about these majestic creatures. "It pulls the back of the tongue inwards and creates a negative pressure in the mouth and that sucks the prey with the water into the mouth. Babies can be born with exceptionally large heads and big, complex brains, indicating a level of intelligence uncommon within the animal kingdom. In order to counteract this and be neutrally buoyant, whales have heavy bones. At a maximum length of about 65 feet and weight of 75,000 pounds, a whale shark's size rivals that of large whales. Top 15 Interesting Facts about Whales. Some whales are blonds and some whales are brunettes, but what’s more interesting is that some whales have incredibly strategic streaks. in length and can weigh up to 12 tons. The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived and can grow to 90 or more feet and weigh as much as 24… Jaymi Heimbuch is a writer and photographer specializing in wildlife conservation. 8. Unique color. Whale sharks are carnivores; however, they eat much differently compared to other sharks and meat-hunting fish. This allows baleen whales like humpbacks to communicate with one another over very large distances. There are two basic types of whales that can be found today: toothed whales and baleen whales. From Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. They can grow to 12.2 meters and weigh as much as 40 tons by some estimates! "It’s almost like popping open a soda can. 12. The whale with the biggest full set of teeth is the sperm whale. An elephant weighs less than a blue whale’s tongue – Source. “They exhale like we sneeze, all of it comes out very suddenly and under high pressure," Reidenberg says. Watch video footage of some amazing whale species. This way, fish looking down at the dark depths of the ocean will be less likely to notice the dark top of a whale, while fish underneath the animal will be less likely to notice a white belly as it blends in with the bright sky. 4. Whales are unique, beautiful, graceful and mysterious; they nurture, form friendships, innovate, grieve, play, sing and cooperate with one another. And these clouds of droplets take a distinct shape depending on the species of whale. The whales that have baleen are known as “Mysticeti”—Greek for “mustached whales.” Although they have baleen instead of teeth, it’s not because the teeth have evolved into baleen or even fully replaced teeth. Females tend to be daintier at around 5,500kg. Whale sharks are in no way related to whales. Their common ancestor was an animal that’s very much like modern-day artiodactyls, i.e., ruminant animals that chew their cud—cows, deer, sheep, giraffe.”, Scientifically, whales are divided into two main categories: Those that have teeth and those that have baleen. Whales can recycle the same air past their vocal folds multiple times before having to return to the surface to breathe. Go to more animal facts This is the reason why, most of the time, the bigger whales are actually female, which is backwards from the rest of the mammalian world. In celebration of this astounding feat, here are 12 more cool facts about the whale known to scientists as Eschrichtius robustus: Adult grey whales can be as long as 15 metres and weigh up to 35 tonnes. These whales are the largest of the family. It comes from the Greek word keto; in Greek mythology, Keto was the goddess of sea monsters, and when the Greeks saw the cresting backs of a group of whales, they believed them to be all part of one giant sea serpent. Blue whale’s voice is clammed as the... 3. Stack five male African elephants onto a scale and you get the picture. 02 As of 2016, the minimum worldwide population of killer whales is believed to be 50,000. Top 15 Facts of Whale Shark - Fun - Interesting. Facts About Whales. Some species of whales are among the longest lived mammals. main information you need to know about the biggest fish and shark in the world. According to Reidenberg, “they take in a volume of water that’s pretty close to the volume of the whole animal itself, so they can almost fit another whale in their throat.". Instead, they rely on suction. Species in the Spotlight: Sacramento Winter-Run Chinook Salmon, NOAA Fisheries’ Seafood Inspection Program Makes Sure Your Seafood Is Safe, Healthy, and Wholesome, Bold Initiatives Chart Course for Stronger, More Resilient Seafood Sector, Our Mission: Create New Opportunities for Aquaculture While We Support the Existing Industry, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, Report a Stranded or Injured Marine Animal. This means that whale calves grow inside their mothers until they are born. Top 15 Facts of Whale Shark - Fun - Interesting. That’s what becomes baleen in baleen whales,” Reidenberg says. The minke whale is the smallest baleen whale in North American waters. Most experts agree that the Blue Whale is the largest mammal that ever been on Earth as well as the loudest. Beluga Whales can swim backwards just as well as they swim forwards. 01 Compared to the average full-sized human, the killer whale is an average of 6 to 8 meters long. Whales are part of the ‘cetacea’ family as they have fins, flukes and blowholes. How much do you know about different species of whales? Each tooth is heavy and weighs as much as one kilogramme. Male orcas weigh much more than females, tipping the scales at around 9,000kg maximum. Basking sharks are the world's second largest fish, growing as long as 32 feet and weighing more than five tons. Whale Sharks Feed on Some of the Ocean's Tiniest Creatures . by Taru Dev Tewari December 17, 2017, 12:55 pm. 03 Whales are mammals, meaning they are warm-blooded and breathe air. A Cuvier's beaked whale holds the … 2. 1. If it’s more heart-shaped, then it’s more likely to be a humpback whale, and if it’s more V-shaped, that’s more likely to be a right whale. The smallest whale is the Dwarf Sperm Whale. Whales are the largest animals in the world. Male humpback whales found in U.S. waters sing complex songs in winter breeding areas in waters near Hawaii, in the... 2. 10. Other whales, like killer whales, have similarly complex hunting methods. Just like us, they breathe air, have hair, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young, and feed their young milk. Killer whales are highly social and often travel in groups that are matrifocal—a family unit focused or centered on the mother. 04 The 2 main types of whales are toothed and baleen. They use these sounds to help travel underwater. Each pod has distinctive noises, so whales in one pod can sense if another whale is part of its group. Beluga whales have flexible necks, allowing them to move their heads. This year, PBS and BBC have partnered to produce a three-day live television series called Big Blue Live that will showcase this spectacular natural confluence. Female whales sing to baby whales, while males sing only when attracting the female. 6. On average, whales can remain submerged for 20 minutes. The benefit is that low frequencies can travel long distances and not degenerate. They then squeeze the water back out and swallow the prey. They’re like vacuum cleaners going around sucking in their prey.”. on January 25, 2019, Stay informed of all the latest regional news around NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Outlines 2021 Recreational Fishing Data Priorities in Updated MRIP Plan, NOAA Scientists Virtually Discover New Species of Comb Jelly Near Puerto Rico. Whales are mammals. 02 Every single ocean on Earth is a whale habitat. Brace yourselves for a big ocean adventure, gang, with our brilliant blue whale facts. The generic term for whales is Cetacea, which actually refers not only to the creatures we call whales but also dolphins and porpoises. Gray whales make one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal: they travel about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) round trip! In fact, “as a fetus they have both and just never fully develop the teeth. She’s got to carry around this enormous backpack of extra fat, all distributed around her body, not only to sustain her but to sustain the calf or the fetus.”, First of all, what you see when a whale spouts out of its blowhole at the surface is not water from the ocean, but rather the condensate from air in its lungs. Within the toothed designation—whales known as “Odontoceti”—there are two sub-categories. You likely are aware of the fact that whales can be extremely large. Some baleen whales, such as right whales, are constantly taking in water and filtering it out the back of their mouth. Although all whales today are carnivores, according to Reidenberg, “They derive from an ancestor that’s not a carnivore. Whales breathe air as we do. One of the most notable facts about whale sharks is that they are the world's largest fish. main information you need to know about the biggest fish and shark in the world. North Atlantic right whales gather small organisms near the water surface, straining seawater with their long baleen plates. Toothed whales, including dolphins, rely on the short wave lengths of high-frequency sounds for super-specific echolocation. The whales’ surface feeding behavior and buoyancy make them vulnerable to collisions. The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived and can grow to 90 or more feet and weigh as much as 24 elephants! The closest living relative to whales is the hippo, another aquatic mammal... 3. Because of the unattached pelvis bones, whales have a relatively unrestricted birth canal. Any dissolved fluid in the vapor become droplets.”. It may weight 9 kilograms. Distribution and migration. Just like there are two types of odontocetes (toothed whales), there are also two types of mysticetes (baleen whales). 03 Typically, an adult killer whale will weigh around 3,600 to 5,400 kilograms. 5. This year, scientists discovered that blue whales … It also dives deep. When you pop open a soda can, you see that little mist—that’s kind of what a whale does every time it breathes because it’s under high pressure. Therefore, they need to reach the surface of the ocean to breathe because they cannot... 3. Some whales even expand their throats like a pelican to create a bowl out of their lower jaw, which is equipped with accordion pleats that allow for huge expansion. Whales are actually mammals, so, they typically don’t belong to the fish ( Pisces) group. The word beluga comes from the Russian word “bielo” meaning white. Many whales rely on counter-shading, with dark tops and light bellies, for camouflage. That’s more than 330,000 pounds (150,000 kg). Thus, they are more closely related to humans than fishes. Whales are the largest animals on Earth and they live in every ocean. 14. They may grow up to 30 meters and weigh as much as several elephants. Facts about Whales for Kids 1. Besides, they are... 2. Blubber is so buoyant that on its own, it would make the whales float too much, leaving them stuck at the water’s surface. Skeletally speaking, the pelvis reduced to two small bones that are just sort of floating—one on each side of the whale, unattached to the spine. 10. The comb jelly, or ctenophore, was first seen during a 2015 dive with the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research team. From octopuses to corals, life under the sea is radically different from that on land. 3. They feast in nutrient-rich cold water near the poles, but then migrate closer to the equator for mating and don’t eat at all—all that gorgeous, clear water around the middle of the world is so transparent because it lacks nutrients, like krill.