Whales are spectacular marine mammals that can weigh as much as 8 to 12,000 pounds. However, this mammal has certain swimming patterns, which are different than fish. Of course, there are many physical differences between whales and fish, but more importantly how they live and survive in the oceans. However, the swimming patterns of whales vs. fish and the adaptations whales have that help them survive vary greatly. Whales, unlike fish, have bones in their flippers. Because whales are warm blooded and massive, they consume way more food than ordinary fish. This provides the whale with a supply of blubber that helps the whale thrive in the ocean. A big difference between swimming with whales and fish are their tails. A fish's tail is pointed vertically, while a whale's (and a dolphin's) is pointed horizontally. Fish tend to swim from side to side (which is apparently called lateral …show more content…
But because of whales land ancestors, their spines were costumed to moving up and down, which makes sense as to why their tails are pointed horizontal.
Whales have special adaptations which help them survive in the water. I have already mentioned blubber and bones in their flippers, but there are more. Echolocation is a whale's navigation tool to help them get around in the water, find food, and potential threats. By using echolocation toothed whales can determine many factors about their environment such as how far an object is, how fast it is moving, whether it is above or below them, what direction it is traveling in, how large it is and whether it is a hollow or solid object. It is extremely useful in areas where visibility is low and helps whales avoid colliding with other objects when they are unable to see what is around them. Their lungs are also very important. Their lungs are able to exchange as much as 90% of the oxygen they inhale as compared to an average human's lungs which can only
Sea World has been known to lie to the public when it comes to giving facts about these killer whales they have captive. One of the things this company claims is that the killer whales actually live longer in their care. According to the website (Sea World of Hurt) this is completely false, killer whales in the wild have a similar life span to humans, they can live from anywhere to 50-100 years. Held captive, these animals hardly live past twenty-five years. In the wild, an orcas dorsal fin is straight which is the way it should be. In captivity, you will mostly see their dorsal fins flopped over or completely collapsed. The reasons as to why their fins become this way is because they simply do not have enough s...
If you were to live during the tertiary period, this would be one of the things you would often see. All of the mammals that existed during that time period were terrestrial. They all were land dwelling mammals. Before J. G. M. Thewissen and colleagues’ discovery in Pakistan, many scientists believed, since the constant new discoveries twenty years ago, in what the numerous fossils from North America, Pakistan, and Egypt have revealed, “…these early cetaceans had mobile elbows and external hind limbs with articulated knees. However, they were fully aquatic, except for Ambulocetus, which was amphibious-much like sea lions” (Walking with Whales).
“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in captivity. Killer whales have no record of ever harming a human being in the wild. In captivity, there have been many incidents of killer whales harming or even killing their trainers. What would cause them to do this in captivity, but not in the wild? They have been known to resort to aggression toward themselves and each other, in what scientist believe to be a stress induced behavior. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Evidence against having these wild animals in captivity is increasing and we need reevaluate the value of capturing and holding killer whales for our educational purposes, enjoyment, and profit.
To fight is to stand up for what is right, break through the walls of what is acceptable, and to have the fire blazing in the eyes of a warrior. Throughout life society has taught humanity to form into a definite way that should not ever change, but through life there has been a small population who are immune from societies spell. The outcasts that must battle to stand up for what they believe is right. In the novels Antigone, Anthem, and in the movie Whale Rider, the main characters fight for what they believe is right by standing up to society's norms the society has deemed acceptable.
Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.
Their dorsal fin is extremely long, tampered and pointed in a triangular shape or rounded and curved towards the end. The skull is oval shaped and the beak is extremely short and rounded at the end. The killer whale’s jaw is powerful with teeth that are able to tear apart flesh of their prey. They can withstand the jolting, wiggling and hurtling movements of prey that are trying to escape. The killer whale is born with a single blow hole instead of two. Their flippers are paddle shaped with rounded ends and flukes are tapered back and pointed at the end resembling to a triangle/pyramid
Shirihai, H. and B. Jarrett (2006). Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals of the World. Princeton, Princeton University Press. p.185-188.
Although the trainers are not allowed to be in the water with them, the trainers still use the same tactics of training. Some of the tricks the whales practice on a daily basis are, waving, showing off their teeth, laying on their side, and squirting water out of their blow hole. The shows still consist of the same concepts and the crowds continue to pay to see the whales do tricks. Whales living in captivity remain in distress and continue to lash out at trainers and other whales in their pools (10 Things You Didn’t
...ould estimate where they spent most of their time. By the length of the other skeletal bones, the size and shape of the animals could be determined, which also shared insight to its behavior. The largest primitive whales could indeed walk on land, but only did so for short periods because their legs could not take so much weight for long amounts of time. These behaviors allow scientists and paleontologists to understand even more as to how these fascinating and mysterious animals went from ruling on land to taking over the sea.
As shown in the figure A, a blue whale has a mottled bluish with broad flat head and a small dorsal fin located near the tail. Figure C furthers shows the morphology of a blue whale. A blue whale can have about “320 black baleen plates in the mouth, 2 blowholes, and many blue-gray white spots” (ZoomWhale). A blue whale is toothless, and this can be a problem when scientist tries to date the age of animal based on it’s teeth. However, it is estimated that a blue whale can expected to live past 50 years (NOAA and World Wildlife).
The decline of the dinosaurs brought the evolution of a new marine order know as Cetacea. Present day species of whales and dolphins began to emerge 10 million years ago. Of these 86 species that exist today, whales make up the majority of both the Odonotocetes and Mysticetes. These creatures are amongst the largest in the world and display an equally unique way of communicating with one another. Both baleen and toothed whales communicate utilizing sounds yet neither possess an external ear. Sounds are detected through a fatty structure that rests in between the middle ear and the mandible while the sounds given off to communicate vary between species, or in an orca's case, between pods. Mysticetes do not contain any vocal cords but instead have vocal folds that they communicate with and generate some of the most resounding biological sounds known to man. These series of clicks and moans come together as a whale song and is used to communicate anything from possible threats to identification of another whale to mating calls. Odonotocetes communicate a little differently by emitting high-pitched sounds and echoes to navigate themselves and determine the location of objects. Echolocation is imparative and provides a three dimensional view of the world below where only 1% of sunlight travels to 100 meters in depth. Migratory whales communicate through these methods across vast distances like 4,500 kilometers and continue to produce the same sounds between each other. Even when the slight changes between clans occur seasonally, the rest of the members in other breeding grounds follow suit. In 1996, when two individual Humpback whales ventured from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific ocean with their own unique song it was onl...
A hero is someone who will attempt everything in their power to help others and risk everything they have to help others. In the movie, The Whale Rider, you can clearly see all the elements of The Hero’s Journey. A young girl named Paula Apirana, is living in a small village with her grandparents. Paika’s dad, who is living in Spain, returns to see Paula and proposes that she should come live with him. She declines the offer and decided to stay with her grandparents. Paula then secretly tries to learn the important ritual, that only males are allowed to learn. Her grandpa, Paka, gets extremely angry at her until he realizes that she is the “chosen one” to perform the ritual. Paika goes through many difficult challenges, however she manages
Killer whales communicate by a series of clicks and whistles called vocalization. Each pod, or family, has their own unique language. This gives whales the ability to identify their own pods. Orcas have a brain that is about five ti...
The Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is part of the marine mammals group. They are found in oceans all over the world, they live in open waters. Even though they are mammals, they do not live on land (Monterey Bay Aquarium). Humpback whales are known for their magical song that can travel great distances. These gentle giants are omnivores, their main diet is krill. They are mostly found near coastlines feeding on tiny shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish. Humpbacks migrate annually from summer feeding grounds near the poles to warmer winter breeding water closer to the Equator. Humpback whales are powerful swimmers, and they use their massive tail fin, called a fluke to propel themselves through or even out of the water! Mothers and their young swim close together, often touching one another with their flippers with what appears to be gestures of affection. Even though it takes more than one year for a humpback whale to grow fully, mother whales leave them after one year (National Geographic).
Did you know in the world there are more than 90 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises? (WDC) The dolphin is a very important animal to the ocean and there are many different types to discover. In order to learn about dolphins, it is important to discuss where they live, their appearance, and what they eat. Some helpful words to understand are “dorsal fin”, a dorsal fin is the top pointed fin on the dolphins back, “flippers”, a flipper is a flat fin that dolphins use to swim, and “echolocation” is a tool dolphins use to find food by sounds bouncing off of objects (dictionary.com).