The Blue Whale Balaenoptera Musculus, or the blue whale, is the largest mammal in the world. This enormous mammal can grow to be 110 feet long and weigh as much as 190 tons. That's longer than two city buses and the total weight of 30 elephants. This giant is powered by a heart the size of a taxi-cab. The blue whale's of the Antarctic grow larger than those of the Northern Hemisphere. Also, the females tend to be slightly larger than the males of the same age. These mammals are bluish-gray in color, with some paler spots. Algae tends to accumulate on their bellies causing a yellowish or mustard color. It has a mottled appearance with a broad, flattened U-shaped head. Fifty to ninety throat grooves run from the mouth to the belly. Instead of teeth, blue whales have 270 to 400 black baleen plates on each side of their mouths. These plates are about forty inches long and twenty-two inches wide. The blue whale has a tiny, stubby dorsal fin set far back on its body. It has a 20 foot wide, slightly notched, triangular flukes, which is propelled by an extremely thick tail stock. The flippers on this creature are long and slender, and are about one-seventh of the whale's body length. The blue whale's most prominent feature is its exceptionally fleshy splashgaurd, which surrounds the blowholes at the front and sides. This whale spouts a single slender jet that soars forty to fifty feet high. The blue whale has very poor eyesight, no sense of smell, and has no sense of taste. However, the blue whale does have well-developed senses of touch and hearing. This large mammal has a life span of about eighty years. At this time there is not too much known about the blue whale's behavior. Blowing and diving patterns vary according to the whale's activity. The blue whale blows every ten to twenty seconds for a total of two to six minutes, when relaxed, and then dives. They usually stay submerged for five to twenty minutes, but can stay under for up to 40 minutes. Blue whale's usually dive to around 490 feet, but can go deeper if need be. When swimming slowly, the whale rises at a shallow angle. He blows as soon as the head begins to brake the surface. The head disappears below the surface and a long expanse of the back rolls into view. The dorsal fin normally appears some time after the... ... middle of paper ... ...ws about blue whales coming from the rest of the world's oceans. California waters may now represent some of the most critical large whale habitats in the world. Bibliograpghy 1. Boitani, Luigi and Bartoli, Stefania 1983. Simon and Schuster's Guide to Mammals. NewYork: Simon & Schuster Inc., p.237. 2. Singing Blues for the Blues. U.S. News and World Report, July 3, 1989 vol 107, n 1; pp.8 and 9. 3. Leatherwood, Stephen and Reeves, Randall 1983. The Seirra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco: Seirra Club Books, pp. 47-51. 4. Sattler, Helen Roney 1987. Whales, the Nomads of the Sea. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books; pp. 17, 28, 62-63. 5. Carwardine, Mark 1985. Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., pp.68-71. 6. Lockley, Ronald M. 1979. Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises. NewYork: W.W. Norton and Co., Inc. p. 88. 7. Baskin, Yvonne. Blue Behemoth Bounds Back. Bio Science, October 1993, vol 43, n 9; pp. 603-606.
Robert L. Pitman. "Whalewatcher: Killer Whale: The top, top Predator ." Journal of the American Cetacean Society (2011): 2. Journal.
Currently, live whale performances have become well liked for tourists to visit. When they are there, they only see what they want to see and do not care or want to know all about the complications the whales go through just to make people smile. The documentary “Blackfish” exposes the truth about the whales, their habits, and why they act the manner they do when in captivity. The inhumane treatment of whales in captivity causes negative effects on the animals which, in turn, affects the humans who care for them.
2. Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: Greenwillow, 2001. The Ohio Digital Library. Overdrive. Web. 13 Jan. 14. .
Thewessen, J. G. M., Williams, E. M., Roe, L. J. & Hussain, S. T. Nature 413, 277-281.
"Pro and Con Captivity for Orcas in Sea World." Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
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.
Guests leave parks believing that killer whales enjoy being in captivity. How can humans be so selfish to enjoy the presence of these animals, if the animals aren’t enjoying themselves? After the gates are close and the lights turned off, the whales spend hours alone, floating lifelessly. It’s hard to postulate that they receive world-class care. “Orcas are too large, too intelligent, and too behaviorally and socially complex to adequately provide for in concrete enclosures” (Rose).
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
...ats of the whale are still used in some of today’s industries. These parts of the whale have numerous applications in biotechnology. Some of which include, but are not limited to; candles, oil lamps, soaps, and lubricants. Even though their oils have significance in certain applications, the sperm whale is considered an endangered species. This is primarily because of being over hunted. They also have been known to get caught in fishing nets, subject to pollution, also can be severely affected by ocean debris.
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
Cetaceans are thought to be some of the most intelligent species on this planet. Popular culture has embraced the idea of cetacean intelligence with shows such as the 1960s hit TV series Flipper, where a dolphin is used to help fight crime. In his comedic science fiction novels, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams suggests that dolphins are the second most intelligent creatures on Earth, behind mice and above humans. Although most scientists would probably argue that humans are the most intelligent species, the behavior and brain size of dolphins and other cetaceans suggests that they too are intelligent. This paper will briefly describe the reason some scientists believe cetaceans are intelligent species and then give examples of scientific studies, which suggest cetacean intelligence. Since bottlenose dolphins and orcas are the most widely studied cetaceans, the survey of field studies will primarily focus on these two species. At the end, this paper provides an argument of why some scientists discredit the high degree of cetacean intelligence.
... The Web. 4 Feb. 2014. Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology.
Humpback whales breath voluntarily, unlike humans. Since they have to remember to breath, researchers believe humpbacks sleep by shutting off half of their brain at a time. Like orcas and dolphins, humpback whales have noses at the top of their head called blowholes (Animal Planet). Humpback whale calves do not stop growing until they are ten years old (National Geographic). They breed, give birth and care for their newborn calves in the warm waters of Tonga. Instead of teeth, humpbacks have baleen plates, they are brush-like strands of bristle that trap there food until it is swallowed. They have very odd mouths that curve downwards, like an eternal frown. Humpback whales are amazing marine mammals (Big Animal Expeditions)
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
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).