WHALES
(Cetacea)
an order of exclusively aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. The streamlined, often torpedo-shaped body gives them an external resemblance to fish. However, cetaceans are warm-blooded, breathe atmospheric air, bear a fetus in the uterus, give birth to a fully developed calf capable of independent existence, which the mother feeds with milk, and the remains of hair are visible on their body. According to these and some other characteristics, they are similar to other mammals, and the general plan of their structure also indicates that they belong to this class of animals. The body of cetaceans, round in cross-section, tapers towards the end and ends with a pair of wide caudal fins, flattened in the horizontal plane. These fins, although devoid of a bony skeleton (there is cartilaginous supporting tissue inside them), serve as the main organ that ensures the animal’s forward movement. The pectoral fins, or flippers, correspond to the forelimbs of land mammals; their carpal parts are not dissected externally, and sometimes are fused internally, forming spade-shaped structures. They serve as stabilizers, “depth rudders,” and also provide turning and braking. There are no hind limbs, although rudiments of pelvic bones have been found in some species. The neck is very short, since the seven cervical vertebrae common to mammals are greatly shortened and fused into one or several plates, the total length of which does not exceed 15 cm. The body of cetaceans is covered with smooth shiny skin, which facilitates gliding in water. Under the skin there is a layer of adipose tissue (blubum) ranging from 2.5 to 30 cm thick. Fat protects the body from hypothermia and helps retain water in the body that would otherwise diffuse into the environment; body temperature is maintained at approximately 35° C. Animals do not need fur, since the fat provides sufficient thermal insulation, however, in the embryonic stages and in adults, sparse hair can be found on the snout. The head is very large and wide. The neck is so shortened that outwardly the boundary between the head and the body is not noticeable. There are no external ears, but there is an auditory canal, which opens through a small hole in the skin and leads to the eardrum. The eyes are very small, adapted to life in the sea. They are able to withstand high pressure when the animal is immersed to great depths; large, fatty tears are released from the tear ducts, which help to see more clearly in the water and protect the eyes from the effects of salt. Nostrils - one (in toothed whales) or two (in baleen whales) - are located in the upper part of the head and form the so-called. blowhole. In cetaceans, unlike other mammals, the lungs are not connected to the oral cavity. The animal inhales air, rising to the surface of the water. Its blood is capable of absorbing more oxygen than that of land mammals. Before diving into the water, the lungs are filled with air, which, while the whale remains under water, is heated and saturated with moisture. When the animal floats to the surface, the air it exhales forcefully, in contact with the cold outside, forms a column of condensed steam - the so-called. fountain. Thus, whale fountains are not columns of water at all. In different species they are not the same in shape and height; for example, the fountain at the top of the southern right whale bifurcates. The exhaled air is forced through the blowhole under such strong pressure that it produces a loud trumpeting sound, which in calm weather can be heard from a great distance. The blowhole is equipped with valves that close tightly when the animal is immersed in water and open when it ascends to the surface. The cetacean order is divided into two suborders: toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti). The former are considered less specialized; These include, in particular, beaked whales, sperm whales, killer whales, as well as smaller forms - dolphins and porpoises. Sperm whales reach a length of 18 m and weigh 60 tons; the length of their lower jaw reaches 5-6 m. The teeth of baleen whales are replaced by long fringed horny plates (whalebone), hanging from the upper jaw and forming a filter for filtering small crustaceans and fish from the water. This suborder includes minke whales, as well as blue, humpback, dwarf, smooth, bowhead and other whales. Some blue whales reach a length of 30 m. This animal is larger than even giant dinosaurs. It can weigh as much as 150 bulls or 25 elephants. Fossils of primitive whales, zeuglodonts ("jugular-toothed"), have been found in marine sediments of Africa, Europe, New Zealand, Antarctica and North America. Some of them were giants more than 20 m long. A whale can reach enormous sizes, since its limbs do not have to support the weight of its body: in water it is as if weightless. A large whale swimming at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h) “generates” 520 hp of energy. With. Whales swallow food whole and consume up to a ton of food per day. The sperm whale's pharynx is very wide, so that it can easily swallow a person, but in baleen whales it is much narrower and only allows small fish to pass through. The sperm whale feeds mainly on squid and often feeds at depths of more than 1.5 km, where pressure exceeds 100 kg/cm2. The killer whale is the only representative of the order that regularly eats not only fish and invertebrates, but also warm-blooded animals - birds, seals and whales. Cetaceans have a very long intestine and a complex multi-chambered stomach, consisting, for example, of 14 sections in beaked whales, and 4 in right whales. The female gives birth to one calf under water. It comes out of her body tail first. The cub is fully developed and is almost immediately able to follow the herd. It suckles for approximately 6 months and grows rapidly, reaching sexual maturity by age three, although increasing in size continues until age 12. Most large whales breed once every two years. Despite their enormous size, these animals are not very durable. Science knows very few specimens of right whales older than 20 years. Herds of whales can commit something akin to mass suicide. Sometimes a hundred or more of their individuals wash ashore at the same time. Even if the suffocating animals are towed back to sea, they return to land. The reasons for this behavior have not yet been determined. Whales provide humans with many useful products. People have been hunting them since ancient times, and whaling existed before the 10th century. In addition to meat, whale oil (blub), which is used to make soap and cosmetic creams, is of great value. Ambergris is extracted from the intestines of sperm whales; this grayish substance is secreted there as a result of irritation of the mucous membrane caused by the horny jaws of swallowed squids. Pieces of ambergris weigh up to 13 kg, and the mass of its largest “nugget” is 122 kg. It contains sodium chloride, calcium phosphate, alkaloids, acids and the so-called ambrine; this substance is lighter than fresh and salt water, softens in the hands, melts at temperatures below 100°, and evaporates when heated more strongly. Ambergris was once highly valued as a perfume fixative. Currently, whaling is almost universally prohibited, since as a result of unsustainable mining, the whale population has greatly decreased and some of their species are on the verge of extinction. International agreements allow the capture and slaughter of individual specimens for scientific research. In addition, some peoples, such as the Eskimos, for whom whale hunting is one of the most important traditional activities, are allowed to continue it on a limited scale.
baleen whales
Baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) got their name because of the long horny plates of the so-called. whalebone, located in their mouth instead of teeth. They hang from the upper to the lower jaw on both sides of the oral cavity perpendicular to the axis of the body. Each plate is a thin strip of approximately triangular shape, smooth on both sides. The outer edge is smooth, and the inner and lower edges are fringed with long bristles, forming a filter for straining small animals from sea water. Whalebone does not dissolve in water or natural acids and is never discarded. It consists of a strong and elastic substance, keratin, which forms the nails, claws and horns of land vertebrates. Not all baleen whales are giants, but they are all large animals, several meters long. However, the throat of any of their species is no wider than our fist. The largest baleen whales feed primarily on planktonic crustaceans, while some of the smaller members of the suborder feed primarily on schooling fish. All species have two nostrils, brought together into a blowhole, which is always moved far back, which allows the animal to breathe by only slightly raising the top of its head out of the water. When a whale opens its mouth to capture food, water does not enter its lungs, since the nasal passage leads directly to the trachea and is not connected to the pharynx. In the past, whalebone was highly prized; in the late 1800s, its price reached $7 per pound (453 g), and some animals could produce almost 1.5 tons of this product. It was used to stiffen bustles, bodices, collars and crinolines. After steel frames began to be used for all this, the trade in whalebone fell into decline. The suborder is divided into three families: gray whales, minke whales and smooth whales.
Gray whales (Eschrichtiidae). There is only one species in this family - the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) - a slate-gray animal up to 15 m long, whose range is limited to the coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean. The head is relatively small, there is a small hump on the back instead of a fin, and there are 2-4 longitudinal grooves on the throat. Whalebone is yellowish in color, its plates are quite thick, 35-45 cm long. The body is often covered with rounded white spots - traces of sea acorns and other skin fouling.
The gray whale spends the summer in the coastal waters of the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and in the winter migrates south, reaching Mexico, Japan and Korea. It stays in shallow places, so that sometimes the water barely covers its back. It feeds on planktonic crustaceans, which abound in the northern seas in the summer months. Before releasing a fountain 3-3.5 m high, the animal makes trumpet sounds for 8-10 minutes. As with all baleen whales, the female is larger than the male. Both parents are very attached to their young, which are born in January. The newborn reaches a length of 4.5-5.5 m. He suckles his mother for 6-8 months, growing during this time to 7.5 m. Parents zealously protect their offspring and, sensing danger, can attack a boat and even a swimmer.
Minke whales (Balaenopteridae).
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also called the herring whale, is a large animal with a wedge-shaped head, a long slender body and a high dorsal fin moved far back; on its throat there are from 40 to 120 deep longitudinal folds. The body is grayish-brown above and white below. The length of the whalebone plate reaches 90 cm, and the entire body - 25 m. One fin whale, 23 m long, weighed 60,000 kg, of which approx. 8500 kg were bones, 475 kg were baleen, 1200 kg were tongue and 2700 kg were head and lower jaw. The species is distributed in all oceans and migrates in herds ranging from a few to more than 100 individuals. Migrations are seasonal: the fin whale spends the summer in the Arctic and Antarctic, and the winter in warmer seas. It feeds mainly on planktonic crustaceans, less often on schooling fish, such as herring. The fin whale does not have a specific breeding season. A 6 m long calf is born 10-15 months after conception; the mother feeds him for 6 months or longer. Life expectancy is 20-25 years. Sei whale, or saydian (willow) whale (Balaenoptera borealis), is similar in general features to the fin whale, but does not exceed 18 m in length. It migrates across the oceans, feeding on plankton and throwing conical fountains 2-2.5 m high into the air. The name “sei whale” was given to the species by Norwegian fishermen, since it usually appears in their waters simultaneously with pollock (seje). A close relative of the sei whale, the Bryde's minke whale, which is almost indistinguishable from it, lives in tropical seas. Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)- the smallest of the minke whales, i.e. whales with folds on the throat. Its color is blue-gray above and white below; A distinctive feature is a wide white stripe crossing the pectoral fins. Length up to 10 m; There are approximately 60 furrow-folds stretching from the chin to the chest. Whalebone is yellowish-white. Distributed more or less everywhere; often enters bays and bays. Humpback whale or humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), - a large animal with a dense, shortened body; the back and sides are blackish, and the color of the belly varies from black or mottled to white. The maximum length is approximately 15 m. An individual 14 m long can weigh over 40,000 kg and produce approx. 4000 liters of fat; the weight of the heart alone is approx. 200 kg. The length of the pectoral fins is more than a quarter, sometimes almost a third of the total body length, which is reflected in the generic name - Megaptera, i.e. "big fin" Their edges are uneven and lumpy. The flattened head ends in a snout rounded at the end, bordered by uneven rows of “warts” with a hair on each of them. The posterior edges of the caudal fin are also scalloped. There are fewer folds on the throat than the fin whale, and the distances between them are wider. The whalebone plates are blackish, up to 1 m long; there are ok. 400 on each side. Humpback whales can be found in all oceans. Its herds migrate with the changing seasons and depending on the amount of food, spending the winter in tropical waters. It feeds on planktonic crustaceans and small fish. Pregnancy lasts 11 months; The calf's body length at birth is 4.5 m, and its weight is approx. 1400 kg. Humpback whales often jump completely out of the water in a vertical position and fall back with a deafening splash, either while playing or trying to throw off barnacles. And sometimes they seem to “stand on their heads,” desperately beating the water with their huge caudal fins. However, this species is especially famous for the extensive repertoire of sounds it makes; Even recordings of his “songs” are sold. The whalers nicknamed him “Humpback” for the way he arches his back while “singing.”

Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)- the largest of all animals that ever existed on Earth. The female is always larger than the male and reaches a length of 30 m with a mass of more than 100 tons. The color is not blue, but rather bluish-gray with silver-gray spots of irregular shape. The belly is sometimes yellowish due to microscopic diatoms clinging to it. The small dorsal fin is strongly moved back; numerous throat grooves extend far into the belly. On each side of the mouth there are approximately 365 blue-black baleen plates up to 1 m long. The blue whale spends its summer near the pack ice in the polar regions of both hemispheres. It usually sails at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h), and if necessary, twice as fast. Before a deep dive, the animal raises its huge tail fins into the air; it can remain underwater for up to 20 minutes. The height of the fountain reaches 6 m. The blue whale feeds on planktonic crustaceans, absorbing up to a ton of food for each “meal”. The baby is born 10-11 months after conception; The body length of a newborn reaches 7.5 m, and the weight is approx. 4 tons. The mother feeds him for 6-7 months. Blue whales reach sexual maturity in the tenth year of life.

Right whales (Balaenidae) characterized by the absence of grooves on the throat.
Greenland or polar whale (Balaena mysticetus)- an animal with a stocky, dense body; matte black color. Length reaches 18 m; more than a third is made up of a huge head, and the mouth, formed by giant arched jaws, can easily fit a bull. On each side of the oral cavity there are 360 ​​baleen plates, each 2-4.5 m long. In the past, the bowhead whale was hunted so intensively that it almost became extinct. This animal was an easy prey for whalers, as it moves at a speed of less than 13 km/h. The length of a newborn cub is 4-4.5 m; he stays with his mother for about a year.

Southern whale (Eubalaena glacialis)- a matte black stocky animal 14-15 m long (the head accounts for almost a third of the length). At the top of the snout there is a large horny growth, usually covered with whale lice. On each side of the mouth there are 250 plates of whalebone, sometimes more than 2 m long. The V-shaped fountain it creates is directed forward; it reaches a height of 4.5 m. The southern whale has always been a favorite prey of whalers, as it swims slowly, produces large quantities of high-quality blubber and whalebone, and in addition, its carcass floats well on the water, it is easy to notice and, having knocked it out, tow behind the ship. It was once common in the temperate and cold waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the seas of the Southern Hemisphere, but is now on the verge of extinction. Mating in the right whale occurs in the colder parts of its range, and the calf is born in temperate waters. The female feeds it for six months or longer. She is very attached to the cub and does not abandon him, even if her life is in danger. There are three known subspecies of the southern right whale: the Biscay whale (E.g. glacialis), which lives in the North Atlantic, the Japanese whale (E.g. japonica) from the North Pacific Ocean, and the Australian whale (E.g. australis) from the Southern Hemisphere. Some zoologists consider them to be separate species. The number of all three is very small due to centuries of barbaric fishing.

Dwarf whale (Neobalaena marginata)- the smallest and rarest of the baleen whales. It does not exceed 6 m in length. Special features include 17 pairs of very thin but wide ribs, a small head and a dorsal fin, which is absent in other right whales. Whalebone is white with a black outer edge. The pygmy whale is common in Australian and New Zealand waters, as well as off the coasts of South America and South Africa.
TOOTHED WHALES
To the suborder of toothed whales (Odontoceti) include cetaceans with teeth, either on the front of the lower jaw or on both jaws (in some species the teeth are not functional). Males are usually larger than females. The main food of almost all species is fish or squid. Unlike baleen whales, toothed whales have an unpaired nostril. Sperm whale (Physeter catodon)- the most famous of all whales. It is capable of diving to a depth of over 1.5 km, remaining there for an hour, and then emerging without, apparently, experiencing any special overloads. Males reach a length of 18-20 m; females are smaller, 11-13 m. One 13-meter sperm whale weighed 40,000 kg, of which 420 were in the liver, and 126 in the heart. The pectoral fins are short, and the dorsal fin has a thick, low hump. The sperm whale usually swims at a speed of 4 knots (7.5 km/h), and, if necessary, three times faster. The head, constituting a third of the total body length, is blunt in front and can be used as a huge battering ram; in the past, wooden whaling ships were damaged by such attacks. On the head there is a large fat pad filled with an oily liquid - spermaceti. The long (5.5 m) but narrow lower jaw bears from 8 to 36 pairs of strong conical teeth, each of which weighs approximately 1 kg. There are no more than 1-3 pairs of them on the upper jaw, and they are non-functional. The blowhole is S-shaped and shifted to the left front corner of the head. The sperm whale can be recognized by its short, wide fountain directed forward and upward. When a whale dives deeply or makes sounds, it raises its tail fins high into the air and goes vertically under the water. Fountains appear at intervals of approximately 10 s; the animal can remain on the surface for up to 10 minutes, making approximately 60 inhalations and exhalations during this time. The sperm whale is polygamous: a harem of up to 10-15 females follows the male along with sucklings. The father shows no interest in the offspring. There is no specific breeding season. Cubs up to 4 m long are born a year after conception and suckle their mother for 6 months or longer; During feeding, she turns on her side so that the baby can breathe normally. The sperm whale reaches its maximum size in the ninth year of life; lives, apparently, only 15-20 years. Its main food is squid and cuttlefish, which it catches at the bottom using its long jaws. Adult sperm whales consume up to a ton of food per day. Animals migrate in herds of thousands.

Dwarf sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) differs from the “simple” one in that it is small and, in comparison with the body, has a head rounded in front. The back and sides are black, the belly is lighter, the mouth is pink; the dorsal fin is sickle-shaped. The length of mature individuals is only approx. 4 m, weight approximately 400 kg. The lower jaw is narrow, with 8-16 narrow, pointed teeth on each side. This species also dives to great depths and hunts there for squid and cuttlefish. Distributed in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans; individual specimens were found ashore in the states of New York, New Jersey and California, Nova Scotia, Peru, the Netherlands, South Africa and Tasmania. Belukha (Delphinapterus leucas) characterized by a white or yellowish color; This species does not have a dorsal fin. Newborn beluga whales are grayish-brown; as they grow, they become variegated and finally completely lighten, except for the grayish-brown edging of the caudal lobes. Each side of the upper jaw bears 10, and the lower - 8 teeth. With them, the whale grabs and holds food, consisting of squid and fish. Adult males reach a length of 3.5-5 m with an average weight of 900 kg, although in some individuals it exceeds 1500 kg; females are somewhat smaller. The beluga whale has a circumpolar distribution and lives among icebergs and floating ice in the Arctic. In July, it enters some northern rivers, chasing salmon as they rise to their spawning grounds. The whale itself migrates in herds, which can include from several to a thousand individuals, although large aggregations of these animals are now rare. Sometimes a herd of beluga whales gets caught in the ice. In 1898, off Cape Barrow in Alaska, 900 beluga whales found themselves cut off from the open sea by pack ice and locked in a space 135 m long and 45 m wide. The Eskimos took advantage of this, killing hundreds of whales in a day. The beluga whale swims at a speed of 5 knots (9.5 km/h). It makes various sounds resembling whistles, roars, squeals and ringing bells, interspersed with chirps and clicks. This whale received the name “beluga” for its coloring. However, it is not related to the white whale from Herman Melville's famous book Moby Dick - it is about an albino sperm whale. Narwhal or unicorn (Monodon monoceros) has an unusual feature - a long (up to 3 m) ivory-colored tusk, helically twisted clockwise and protruding forward from the left half of the upper jaw. In principle, the young develop two tusks, but in males only one develops, while in females both remain hidden in the gum. As far as is known, the tusk does not serve as an offensive weapon; however, it may be used in fights for females. The body length of a mature narwhal is 3.5-4.5 m, and that of a newborn is approx. 1.5 m. The color of adult individuals is dark, with numerous yellowish-white spots, but old whales are also almost white. The muzzle is rounded; no dorsal fin. Narwhals are inhabitants of the Arctic Ocean and the northern part of the Atlantic, although there are cases when they swam to the shores of England and Holland. When the sea freezes in winter, the males use their tusks to make holes in the ice crust; At such holes you can see beluga whales along with narwhals. When the animal emerges, air escapes from its blowhole with a piercing whistle. Narwhals also make low sounds, reminiscent of mooing, which are believed to be used by the mother to call her calf. The food of these whales consists of cod, salmon, rays, halibut, flounder, gobies, shrimp, cuttlefish and other sea animals, which they swallow whole. Narwhal meat is eaten by Eskimos, who also use their fat for their lamps and their intestines for making ropes and fishing rods. Beltteeth (Mesoplodon) reach an average length of 4.5-6.5 m. The snout is elongated into a tapering rounded beak. The head is small, narrow; the dorsal fin is small, moved far back. One of the distinguishing features is a pair of grooves on the throat. Belly teeth lead a more or less solitary lifestyle. They are often found in warm waters of both hemispheres. Their main food is squid and cuttlefish. In the males of one of the species - the belt tooth True (M. mirus) - the teeth are located at the very end of the lower jaw, and in the female they are not visible at all. The Antillean belttooth, or Gervais' whale (M. gervais), reaches a length of 6 m. The male Atlantic belttooth, or Sowerby's whale (M. bidens), has two very large teeth on the lower jaw. True beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) much larger and more massive than belt teeth. The body length of mature males reaches 8.5 m. At the end of the lower jaw there is a pair of thin conical teeth. The eyes are quite large for cetaceans. The color is black, brown or grayish depending on gender and age; Over the years, the color of the head becomes lighter. The dorsal fin is strongly shifted back. As is often observed in whales that feed on squid and cuttlefish, the sides and head of the beaked whale are usually covered with scars and scratches from wounds inflicted by these animals. Beaked whales migrate from the Arctic to the Antarctic in groups of 30-40 individuals. There is little information about their lifestyle. They are known to remain underwater for more than half an hour. Judging by the scars on the body of the males, fierce battles take place between them for the females. Tasmanov's beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) It received its scientific name from the Tasman Sea, where it was first discovered, and from the ancient Greek word “ketos” - whale. Almost nothing is known about this species, except that it has ca. 90 functional teeth, of which the two front teeth on the lower jaw are bulbously swollen. Northern swimmer (Berardius bairdi)- the largest representative of the beaked whale family, reaching a length of 12 m in adulthood. It has a small dorsal fin and a well-developed beak; the back and sides are black, and the belly is gray. On each side of the lower jaw there are two large teeth embedded in cartilaginous covers. The sounds made by this whale resemble the roar of a bull. Highbrow Bottlenose (Hyperoodon ampullatus), a species of beaked whales. Adults reach a length of 10.5 m and produce almost a ton of fat. A high frontal protrusion with a fat pad containing spermaceti almost hangs over the short, wide beak. Mature males have a white spot on their forehead. Breeding season is in April or May; the only cub is born a year after conception. Of the two pairs of teeth located at the end of the lower jaw, all adult females and many males retain only one. The high-browed bottlenose lives in the Arctic in summer, and in winter migrates south, to the latitude of the Mediterranean Sea. A closely related species, the flat-faced bottlenose (Hyperoodon planifrons), lives in Antarctica. Bottlenose fish migrate in large herds, often several hundred individuals, and dive to great depths in search of their favorite food - squid and cuttlefish.
see also

Representatives of the class of mammals - whales - are marine animals that amaze with their impressive size. In Greek, the meaning of the word kitoc is “sea monster”, from which the name of this mammal comes from. At a time when fishermen had just begun to notice such a large creature as a whale, there were frequent disputes about whether it was a fish or an animal. Surprisingly, the ancestors of all cetaceans are artiodactyl land animals. Although the whale looks like a fish in appearance, one of its modern ancestors is a hippopotamus. Despite all these facts, debate continues about what whales are - fish or mammals.

Whale - description and characteristics

The size of whales exceeds the dimensions of any mammal: the body length of a blue whale reaches twenty-five to thirty-three meters, its weight is more than one hundred and fifty tons. But there are also smaller, dwarf whales. Their weight does not exceed four tons, and their body length is six meters.

All cetaceans have a body shaped like an elongated drop, which allows them to glide easily in the water column. The large head with a narrow and blunt rostrum allows the whale to cut through the water when swimming. The nostrils are shifted closer to the crown, and the eyes are small relative to the body. Different individuals have differences in the structure of their teeth. Toothed whales have sharp cone-shaped teeth, and baleen whales, instead of the usual teeth, filter water and thus obtain food using bone plates (or whalebone).

The whale's skeleton provides special plasticity and the ability to perform maneuvers due to the spongy structure and elasticity of the intervertebral discs. The head goes into the body without a neck interception; towards the tail the body becomes narrower. The mammal turns and slows down with the help of flippers, which have been transformed from pectoral fins. The motor function is performed by the tail, which is distinguished by its flat shape, extreme flexibility and developed muscles. At the end of the tail section there are horizontally arranged blades. Many whales use their tail to stabilize their movements underwater.

Hairs and bristles grow only on the faces of baleen whales; the body is covered with absolutely smooth and hairless skin. The color of the animal's skin can be monochromatic, anti-shadow - dark top and light bottom, or spotted. As whales age, they can change the color of their skin. Cetaceans lack olfactory receptors and also have poorly developed taste receptors. The whale can only distinguish the taste of salty foods, while other mammals have a full range of taste buds. Poor vision and frequent myopia are fully compensated by the conjunctival glands. Mammalian hearing distinguishes sounds ranging from muffled noises to ultrasonic frequencies, due to the complex anatomical structure of the inner ear. There are a large number of nerves under the skin, which provides the animal with an excellent sense of touch.

Whales communicate with each other using echolocation. The absence of vocal cords did not prevent the whale from communicating with other individuals by producing sounds. The role of a reflector and a sound lens is performed by a layer of fat in the concave bones of the skull. Whales have slow, smooth movements, but sometimes their speed can reach forty kilometers per hour.

The body temperature of a whale does not depend on the environment; these are warm-blooded animals. A thick layer of fat protects cetaceans from hypothermia. Huge lungs with well-developed muscles allow animals to spend under water from ten minutes to an hour and a half. Swimming to the surface of the ocean, the whale releases air whose temperature is much higher than the surrounding air. That is why, when exhaling, a fountain appears - a sheaf of condensate, and along with it, due to the high power, a trumpet roar breaks out in some large animals.

Lifespan. How long do whales live?

The question of how long whales live can be answered differently depending on their species. Small animals live up to thirty years, the lifespan of large whales does not exceed fifty years.

The habitat of whales is the world's oceans. Mammals are scattered across all latitudes, but in cold weather most migrate to warm waters and live near the coast. These are herd animals that prefer to live in groups with several dozen or hundreds of individuals. Whales migrate depending on the season. In winter and during the birthing period, whales and their females swim to warm waters, and in summer they are in waters of temperate or high latitudes.

A whale's diet depends on its species. Plankton is preferred by planktivores; mollusks act as food for teutophages. Ichthyophages feed on live fish; detritivores consume decomposed organic matter. Killer whales are the only cetaceans that hunt not only fish, but also pinnipeds such as seals, penguins and sea lions. Dolphins and their offspring can also become victims of killer whales.

Types of whales

The largest representative of the mammal family is the blue whale. One hundred and fifty tons of weight and a length of thirty meters give the blue whale the right to be considered the largest animal on the planet. The narrow head and slender body allow the mammal to move smoothly under water, cutting through its thickness. The skin has the appearance of marble stone thanks to the gray spots scattered throughout the blue body of the whale. The blue whale lives in every ocean and feeds mainly on plankton and small fish. Blue whales prefer to live and move alone. The size of the blue whale attracts poachers and scientists to it.

The blue whale dives into deep water in moments of fear or injury. Whalers, using harpoons, measured the maximum depth to which the animal descends - five hundred and forty meters, although during a normal dive a whale does not descend into water deeper than one hundred meters. After a deep dive, the mammal makes a series of surfacings in order to inhale air. The length of the blue whale makes it dive and emerge rather slowly. The animal spends three quarters of its life under water. The blue whale reproduces more slowly than other cetaceans: calves are born no more than once every two years. During one birth, only one baby is born, and the pregnancy period itself is very protracted.

The animals were practically exterminated in the last century, so now scientists are trying to increase their numbers. Today, the number of blue whales across the planet does not exceed ten thousand individuals. Poachers destroy blue whales because of the value of their baleen. It has a rich pitch black color and a triangular shape. The fringe located on the baleen plates allows the whale to feed on large crustaceans and small plankton.

The songs of an animal like the blue whale are considered very depressing. The blue whale lives about eighty to ninety years, the maximum recorded age of the animal is one hundred and ten years.

Because of the convex hump-shaped fin on the back, one of the whale representatives was called humpback. The animal has a short body - at least fourteen meters, while its mass is about thirty tons. The humpback whale differs from other species in the form of a variety of skin colors and the presence of several rows of warty, leathery growths on the top of the head. The body color of the mammal can vary from brown to dark gray and black, the chest and belly are covered with white spots. The upper part of the fins can be completely black or covered with light spots, the bottom is completely white. The animal has long pectoral fins, the mass of which makes up a third of the whale's total weight. Humpback whales have individual growths as well as coloration.

This mammal lives in the waters of all oceans, excluding the areas of Antarctica and the Arctic. Migration of the humpback whale can be either localized or seasonal, depending on the availability of food or ocean water temperature. Animals do not choose specific areas to live, but prefer to be near the shore, in shallow water. During the migration period, whales enter deep waters, but usually stay near the shores. At this time, mammals hardly eat, feeding on reserves of subcutaneous fat. Crustaceans, mollusks and small fish make up the diet of the humpback whale in the warm season. Groups of these animals quickly disintegrate. Only mothers and cubs can swim and hunt together for long periods of time.

The humpback whale is known for the sounds it makes. During the breeding season, males make long-lasting sounds, reminiscent of melodic songs, attracting females. Scientists who became interested in these sounds, through research, were able to determine that the songs of the humpback whale, like human speech, consist of individual words that form sentences.

The pygmy whale is considered the smallest species of cetacean. Its mass does not reach three tons, and its body length does not exceed six meters. This is the only whale that moves in waves. The dwarf whale has a streamlined body with a gray or black color with gray spots. The animal’s head is completely free of any growths, the pectoral fins are very short, have a rounded shape, and the sickle-shaped dorsal fin does not exceed twenty-five centimeters in height. Unlike blue, the dwarf whale has a white baleen with a yellowish tint.

Scientists provide little information about the lifestyle of this animal, as it is rare. The dwarf whale does not jump out of the water and does not raise its tail fin above its surface. The fountains that he releases when exhaling are not striking in their size and are not accompanied by a hum. The mammal can be distinguished by its light gums and a white spot on its jaw. The dwarf whale swims rather slowly, bending its body in waves.

The mammal leads a solitary lifestyle, but sometimes it can be seen in groups of sei whales or minke whales.

These whales are rarely found in the open ocean; they often swim in shallow bays. During the warm season, young pygmy whales move to coastal waters. Animals do not migrate long distances. Plankton, crustaceans, and invertebrate marine animals act as food for dwarf whales. This is the rarest and smallest species of cetacean.

One of the representatives of cetacean mammals is the beluga whale. The name of the animal comes from its color. Beluga whale calves are born with dark blue skin, which then changes to light gray, and adults are pure white. The animal is distinguished by a small head with a high forehead. The beluga whale can turn its head because its cervical vertebrae are not fused. Most whales do not have this ability. The animal has no dorsal fin, and the small pectoral fins are oval in shape. Because of these features, the name of the mammal is translated from Latin as “wingless dolphin.” Thirty to forty years is how long these whales live.

These whales live in Arctic latitudes, but migrate seasonally. Beluga whales spend summer and spring off the coast, in areas for molting and feeding. During the molting season, whales rub in shallow water against sea pebbles, thus trying to shed their old skin. Every year the beluga whale visits the same places, remembering the place of its birth, where it returns after wintering. In winter, whales live in glaciated zones, breaking through thin ice with their powerful backs. But at moments when ice holes are covered with a thick layer of ice, beluga whales can become captured by ice. The danger comes from polar bears and killer whales, for which beluga whales can become food. Whale migration takes place in two groups: one contains several females with calves, and the second contains adult males. Communication between individuals is carried out using sound signals and clapping of fins in the water. During the study of beluga whales, more than fifty types of sounds that it makes were counted.

Mating of whales takes place on the coast, several times a year. Males can organize tournament fights for a female. During birth, one baby whale appears, which the female feeds for one and a half to two years.

One of the brightest cetaceans is the sperm whale. Unlike other whales, sperm whales prefer a gregarious lifestyle, moving and hunting in groups of hundreds of individuals. Their speed does not allow sperm whales to move quickly through the water column. The sperm whale is known for its ability to dive deep underwater and stay at depth for a long time. The large content of fat and fluids in the sperm whale's body provides it with protection from water pressure. The mammal stores its air supply in the air sac and muscles containing a large amount of myoglobin. In rare cases, the animal has caused accidents with deep-sea cables. The sperm whale got entangled in the cable with its tail and lower jaw and choked, this was discovered already during the repair of the cable. A sperm whale was recovered off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula after it became entangled in a cable located at a depth of more than two thousand meters. At the same time, the whale uses echolocation, emitting ultrasound, which not only allows it to communicate with other sperm whales, but also to scare away dangerous animals. High-frequency signals block the movements of other ocean inhabitants, which makes it easier for the sperm whale to hunt them.

This mammal has been exterminated for several centuries, which is why its numbers have sharply declined. In conditions of polluted ocean waters and continued fishing, sperm whales are very slowly restoring their population. When wounded and attacked, the animal shows great aggression, so hunting it involves great risk. A wounded sperm whale is capable of sinking a whaling ship along with its entire crew. What does a whale eat? It eats small crustaceans, mollusks, squid, octopuses, and small sharks. To grind food, the sperm whale swallows small stones. This whale is the only mammal in whose mouth a person can completely fit. During whaling ship accidents, sperm whales swallowed whalers.

Many researchers are still arguing about whether the killer whale is a whale or a dolphin. Although the killer whale is called a killer whale in the media and in the everyday life of whalers, this animal belongs to the dolphins. This animal is confused with a whale because of the shape of the fin: dolphins have sharp, long fins, while killer whales have rounded and wide fins.

Mating and reproduction of whales

The whale is a monogamous animal that reproduces once every two years. The mammal fully matures by the age of twelve, but it becomes able to reproduce by the age of four. Males mate throughout the whole year, so the mating season is very long. Pregnancy depends on the species of cetacean and can take from seven to fifteen months. To give birth, females migrate to warm waters.

As a result of the birth, one whale appears, which emerges from the female with its tail first. The born baby immediately has the opportunity to move and develop independently, but it stays near its mother for some time. The baby whale is fed underwater, because whale milk has a high density and high fat content, as a result of which it does not spread in water. After finishing feeding, the cub almost doubles in size. The male accompanies the mother and the calf throughout the entire feeding period.

• man hunted whales for whalebone, fat and bones. Margarine, glycerin and soap were made from fat and lard. Whalebone and bones were used for the production of corsets, figurines, jewelry, and dishes;
• in the production of decorative cosmetics, spermaceti, which is found in the head of a whale, is actively used;
• many species of whales are listed in the Red Book, as they were practically exterminated by whalers;
• more than a dozen blue whale skeletons can be seen in various natural museums around the world;
• The trainable whale is the beluga whale. It can be seen in circuses and dolphinariums. Researchers of the ocean floor trained beluga whales to search for objects lost at the bottom, deliver equipment to divers, and conduct underwater photography;
• A large amount of literature has been written about various representatives of whales, while mammals act both as assistants to humans and as dangerous predators;
• The names of whales, such as beluga whale or sperm whale, are used to name some types of sea or land cargo transport.

Russian fairy tales sometimes talk about the “miracle-yudo-fish-whale”. This expression, of course, can only be found in fairy tales, because a whale is not a fish at all: it breathes not with gills, but with lungs. And although he can stay under water for a long time, he still needs to rise to the surface to breathe fresh air. Whales are mammals, they give birth to live babies and feed them with milk, which is 10 times more nutritious than cow's milk. Not surprisingly, baby whales grow very quickly.

Scientists divide the entire large family of whales into two groups: baleen and toothed whales. The largest of the toothed animals is the sperm whale. It reaches 19 m in length. His favorite food is . For them, he dives to a depth of 300, 500 and even 1000 m and can stay under water for an hour or two. He has big lungs. In addition, his right nostril became overgrown and turned into a huge air sac.

Sperm whales are found in our Far Eastern seas. And in the northern ones there are other toothed whales - beluga whales. When herds of beluga whales appear off the coast, you can hear their incomparable roar. The northern seas are also home to the narwhal, also a toothed whale. True, his teeth are underdeveloped, but one of the incisors has turned into a tusk, a formidable weapon 3 m long. Narwhals and beluga whales have much in common with, and they all feed on fish.

But the killer whale is not interested in fish. These relatively small animals (5-7 m) attack seals and fur seals and tear the prey into pieces with sharp cone-shaped teeth. Killer whales dare to attack their mustachioed relatives, trying to snatch the soft, fat tongue from defenseless animals. Giants escape from killer whales by swimming in panic into river mouths and throwing themselves into shallow water.

Baleen whales include: minke whales - with longitudinal folds on the belly; gray whales - with two or three folds on the neck; right whales; bowhead whales. And finally, the largest of the Earth's animals - blue whales - up to 33 m in length and weighing 150 tons. Their baby whale, just born, reaches 5-7 m in length and drinks 100 liters of milk at one feeding.

The mouth of baleen whales is huge. It seems that anyone will be swallowed. But in fact, they have to limit themselves to small-sized prey: their esophagus is very narrow.

They would have had a bad time if not for the “mustaches,” which consist of two rows of horny plates hanging from the upper jaw. Through them, the whale filters the water, filtering out tiny crustaceans from it. A whale's stomach can hold 2-3 tons of food. A whale needs a billion crustaceans just for breakfast or lunch. In short, he has to work a lot to get enough. Whales swim in large herds. Herds of beluga whales sometimes reach several thousand heads.

Whales are very peculiar mammals, which, due to their constant life in water, are more like fish. This group of animals has a characteristic appearance and at the same time has achieved significant diversity. Whales form a separate order of Cetaceans, but this term is a collective one. Usually this word refers to large species; small cetaceans have other names (dolphins, porpoises).

Humpback whale, or humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).

The most striking distinguishing feature of these animals is their size. Indeed, all species of whales are simply giants of the animal world. Even the smallest species (dwarf sperm whales, for example) reach a length of 2-3 m and a weight of 400 kg, and most species have a length of 5-12 m and a weight of several tons. The largest species, the blue whale, reaches a length of 33 m and weighs 150 tons! It is several times larger than even the largest dinosaurs. The blue whale is the largest living creature ever to inhabit our planet!

All species of whales are characterized by an elongated, streamlined body, a very short, inactive neck and a large head. The size of the head can vary greatly between species: in small whales it is 1/5 of the body length, in large baleen whales its size can reach 1/4, and in the sperm whale the head makes up 1/3 of the body. Based on the structure of their teeth, whales are divided into two suborders: baleen and toothed. Baleen whales have no teeth at all; they are replaced by giant horny plates that hang in the mouth like a fringe. They are called whalebone.

Baleen in the mouth of a whale.

Toothed whales have teeth, their shape and size vary between species. The structure of the jaws can also be different: in baleen whales the lower jaw is much larger than the upper and is similar to a ladle; in toothed whales, on the contrary, the upper jaw is larger or equal in size to the lower one. Such differences are associated with the nature of the diet of these animals.

The difference in size of the upper and lower jaws is clearly visible on the head of a humpback whale.

The brain size of whales is relatively large, but this is primarily due to the development of the parts of the brain responsible for hearing. Whales, like dolphins, have perfect echolocation abilities; they emit sounds of various frequencies and use their reflection (echo) to navigate in space, find food and communicate with each other. Just like dolphins, whales are susceptible to an unknown pathology - they can periodically wash ashore. The animals do this unconsciously (the ability of whales to commit suicide is nothing more than a stupid prejudice), but with such persistence that scientists are still puzzling over the reason for such strange behavior. Animals washed ashore are not always old or sick; moreover, sometimes, through the efforts of rescuers, they can be returned to the sea. Most likely, the root cause of such death is disruptions in the operation of the echo sounder caused by numerous radio sources (all modern navigation uses powerful sources and repeaters of radio waves). Such electromagnetic “noise” in the ocean confuses the giants and they approach the shores; moreover, accustomed to trusting their feelings, the whales stubbornly strive in the “right” direction until they run aground. Other sense organs in whales are poorly developed: the sense of smell is in its infancy, and vision is also rather weak.

On the top of the head there is a breathing hole - a blowhole. In more primitive baleen whales it consists of two openings (“nostrils”), in toothed whales there is only one opening. Interestingly, during exhalation, moist air from the lungs creates a kind of fountain, and its shape depends on the type of whale.

A blowhole with two nostrils on the head of a gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus).

The limbs of whales are arranged in a very unusual way. The front ones have turned into flattened fins, and their size can vary greatly among different species. For example, the fins of belted teeth and sperm whales are small, and they reach their greatest development in the humpback whale.

The long fins of a humpback whale resemble wings underwater.

But whales have no hind limbs at all; in their place in the lumbar spine there are only two small bones to which the muscles of... the genital organs are attached. The driving force in the whale's body is created by a powerful twin tail, but these are not modified hind legs, as some believe.

The powerful tail is used by whales for movement and protection.

The coloration of whales is varied, but discreet. More often, their body has a dark upper side and a lighter lower side; some species (Bryde's minke) may have clearly visible stripes on the underside of the head. Species such as the blue whale, gray whale, and sperm whale are uniformly gray or brown in color.

The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) gets its name from its rare white skin color.

Whales are widespread throughout all oceans (and some seas) of the globe. They are found only in deep waters; as a rule, they do not enter bays, river mouths and similar shallow waters. Whales usually move freely across the ocean, but their movement is not chaotic. Each whale species has favorite breeding grounds that they visit during certain seasons. The rest of the time, whales fatten up, but do this in areas remote from their breeding grounds. Thus, whales migrate with a cyclicity of 1 year. When feeding, whales swim at a speed of 10-20 km/h, but in case of danger they switch to a cruising speed of 50 km/h. Adult males and non-breeding females stay alone, females with cubs, as well as all animals during the breeding season form herds of 5-15 individuals. There is a peaceful atmosphere inside the herd: the whales have no internal hierarchy, they do not show aggression towards each other, in case of danger, all members of the herd try to defend themselves with common efforts, there are even cases of mutual assistance to wounded brothers. In general, whales, with their huge size and clumsiness, give the impression of stupid and uninteresting animals. But this is a false idea! These peculiar animals are endowed with developed intelligence and are not inferior to dolphins in intelligence. For example, there are cases when whales showed interest in the underwater photographers who were filming them - the animals approached people and even tried to play with them in their own way, pushing them to the surface. Another example: whalers tracked down a female whale with her calf and killed the latter. The whale carcass was transported to the cutting site in tow. All this time, the female swam nearby and tried to remove the corpse of the cub from the rope. Captive whales in captivity quickly get used to people and are able to perform tricks (to the best of their physical capabilities). Like all highly developed animals, whales love to play, while they jump high out of the water and beat their tails loudly.

Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).

Whales feed on a variety of marine animals, and there is a narrow specialization in the nutrition of different species. Baleen whales eat exclusively plankton - the smallest sea crustaceans. They extract it by filtering large volumes of water. To do this, the whale opens its mouth and takes water into its mouth...

Humpback whales use their open mouths as a scoop.

then with his tongue, like a piston, he pushes the water out of his mouth - the water flows freely through the whalebone, but the crustaceans remain.

A whale strains water with plankton.

Toothed whales feed on fish, which they also catch not individually, but in whole schools. Sperm whales specialize in catching deep-sea fish and shellfish (mainly squid). Many whales make long dives for hunting; they can stay under water for up to 1.5 hours. The record holders for diving depth are sperm whales, which were encountered at a depth of 1 km!

Whales are very infertile animals. Females reach sexual maturity at 7-15 years, males only at 15-25. Moreover, each individual participates in reproduction no more than once every 2 years. In the mating ritual of whales there is not only no aggression, but also any kind of struggle at all. Male whales attract the attention of females with their songs! Whale voices are surprisingly delicate for animals of their size. Each species of whale has its own set of sounds, but even individuals of the same species differ in the tone of their voice. The whale's song resembles a melodic moan and sounds very loud. According to divers, when a whale sings, the water around it vibrates. Female whales can mate with several males, since there is no struggle between representatives of the stronger sex, selection occurs in a very unusual way. It turns out that the gonads of whales are enormous (in the sperm whale, for example, up to 10-20% of body weight) and are capable of producing large amounts of sperm. Thus, among several males mating with one female, the one whose hormonal status is higher wins. Pregnancy in various species lasts 11-18 months. The female gives birth to only one calf, but it is large and developed. For example, the weight of a newborn blue whale is 2-3 tons. The calf is born tail first and, with the help of its mother, rises to the surface for its first breath. The mother often feeds the cub with very rich milk, due to which it grows quickly. The lactation period of whales is relatively short - 5-7 months. During this time, the cub manages to grow 2 times, then its growth slows down sharply. For another 1.5-2 years, the cub accompanies the mother, using her protection. In small and medium-sized whales, young animals are kept in herds until they reach sexual maturity, and sometimes later. Whales live 50-70 years.

Baby blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus).

It would seem that nothing could threaten such gigantic animals in this world. In reality, whales are very vulnerable to various dangers. In the ocean, whales have no enemies except... their own brothers. Killer whales (giant predatory dolphins often called whales) attack other species of cetaceans. Killer whales live in groups and act collectively, so even adult whales can hardly resist their coordinated attack, and the calves are completely defenseless. When attacked, whales try to escape by “flight”, swimming away from the herd of killer whales at high speed. If it was not possible to break away from the pursuit, the whale tries to fight off the attackers with strong blows of its tail, the mother swims under the calf from below, trying to cover it with her body.

But even in the absence of predators, whales have enough problems. Sometimes these animals experience... hunger. Massive fishing, global warming, and changing sea currents undermine the food supply of whales and animals can drift for several weeks in “barren” waters. Researchers have encountered extremely emaciated animals. In the Arctic Ocean, whales often become trapped in ice. Since whales breathe air, they are forced to surface regularly to replenish their supplies. If there are no suitable polynyas around, whales break through the ice with their heads, but they do not always succeed. When the ice is thick (or the opening is small), entire herds of whales suffocate under the ice.

Minke whale in Antarctic ice.

To top it all off, whales are actively hunted by people. Despite their impressive size (or rather, because of them), whales are attractive prey for fishing. There are no useless parts in a whale carcass; everything is used: fat (blub), meat, baleen, teeth, skin. Sperm whales are suppliers of very exotic products - spermaceti and ambergris. Spermaceti, despite its name, is not whale sperm at all, but a fat-like substance from the brain. Ambergris is found in the intestines and has a pleasant smell, which is why it got its name. Both substances are very valuable raw materials in the cosmetics industry and are extremely highly valued on the world market.

As a result of the impact of unfavorable factors, the number of almost all species of whales has greatly decreased, many species are on the verge of extinction. In this regard, the World Convention on the Prohibition of Whale Fishing was adopted (especially since whaling products have lost their relevance in our time). The only country that has not signed the convention is Japan. Japanese whalers still carry out mass fishing of all whales indiscriminately, justifying themselves by the fact that whale meat... is a traditional component of Japanese cuisine. On the other hand, tourism in whale breeding grounds has gained wide popularity. Nature lovers visit such places on small boats; queues line up to tour operators for the opportunity to watch whales live and hear their songs. Attempts to keep whales in captivity run into many obstacles: large species of whales cannot be kept due to their size, baleen whales cannot be fed with plankton, and catching an adult whale without killing it is very difficult. Repeated attempts to catch the cubs led to the death of the babies even at the transportation stage. Only the smallest species of whales (beluga whales, pilot whales) take root in aquariums, but they do not breed there. Perhaps the only way to preserve these unique animals is a widespread ban on their hunting and comprehensive protection of water resources.

The carcass of a beached blue whale is being cut up for further scientific research.

What type of animal are whales?

Although whales are sometimes called “fisher whales,” they are actually mammals, and their “relatives” are more likely to be considered deer and cattle. This is shown by a comparative analysis of the skeletal structure. But already many millions of years ago, the ancestors of whales, originally living on land, gradually moved to another, aquatic habitat.

Cetaceans or whales (lat. Cetacea) are an order of mammals fully adapted to life in water. Cetaceans, together with artiodactyls, are sometimes classified as a non-systematic group of cetaceans. All cetaceans except dolphins and porpoises are often called whales. Cetaceans are the largest animals that have ever lived on Earth.

The scientific name cetus and the Russian word whale come from the Greek ketos (sea monster).

Cetaceans have a fusiform, streamlined body and smooth skin without hair. A thick layer of blubber protects whales from hypothermia. The forelimbs are transformed into flippers, the hind limbs are atrophied. The tail ends in a large horizontal fin.

Cetaceans have the largest size among mammals, so the average body length of a blue whale is 25 m, weight is 90-120 tons. The smallest cetaceans are the white-bellied dolphin and Hector's dolphin, belonging to the genus of motley dolphins (Cephalorhynchys): their body length is not exceeds 120 cm, weight - 45 kg.

The largest whale is at the same time the largest animal in the world. This is a blue whale - its length can exceed 30 meters, and its weight reaches 125 tons. It can be found in any seas, but most often it is found in the Pacific Ocean. It belongs to the group of toothless whales (the other group is called toothed whales).

It is quite difficult to imagine that the largest animal in the world can live without teeth. How do they do this? In their mouth they have a device consisting of hundreds of horny plates called baleen. They grow on the roof of the mouth (the top of the mouth) and form something like a sieve.

The blue whale feeds in the following way: with its mouth wide open, it quickly swims through an accumulation of prey, which consists mainly of small mollusks, shrimp and fish. Closing his mouth, he forcefully pushes water out of it. The water is filtered through the whalebone, but the prey remains. The whale's mouth resembles a huge container. And the length of his head is about a third of the length of his body.

Among the toothed whales, the largest are sperm whales. They have a huge head and reach 20 meters in length. The killer whale, or killer whale (actually a large dolphin), is the only cetacean that feeds on other warm-blooded animals. The killer whale is about 9 meters long, and it easily overtakes seals. Schools of killer whales even attack large whales.

Because whales live in water and have fish-like bodies, we often compare them to fish. But their skeletal structure, circulatory system and brain are not at all similar to fish.