Baleen Whales Research Paper

The ancestors of the whales transitioned from being land bearing animals to becoming animals that live in the ocean. While the original ancestor of whales lived on land as it evolved it was able to start to enter the water until it struggled more to get on land than to get in water until the whale’s ancestors began to live exclusively underwater.

The evolutionary path of a whale is a fascinating process of a terrestrial mammal that evolves into a marine mammal. This evolutionary path started with one of the earliest ancestors called “Pakicetus”. A Pakicetus was discovered to be a land animal with four legs that had teeth as carnivores. It skull structure was long, but this organism didn’t look like any marine animal. The scientist then discovered that on the skull’s ear region it was surrounded by a bony wall. This feature on an organism only was distinct from one type of species, scientist discovered that this animal “Pakicetus” was an ancestor of a whale. By comparing the early whales Pakicetus to the next generation of ancestors Ambulocetus, the Ambulocetus whale looks more like

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.

There is no doubt that humans have always been intrigued with the majestic beauty of the large giants found in all of the world’s oceans. Whales and people have had a long history together, marked by many turns of events.

Recent evidence suggests that whales may not have always inhabited the oceans. Bones of an ancient ancestor of modern day whales, the Basilosaurus, were discovered in Pakistan that suggest whales evolved from a wolf-like creature. This genus of an early whale lived 34-40 million years ago in the late Eocene. These fossils show many different features in common with both modern day whales and modern day land mammals. Since the discovery of these bones, many other evidences show that whales are a likely descendant of the Basilosaurus through many different ways, such as embryologic comparison and DNA testing. Whales aren’t the only suspected descendants

By examining, they are too big, they don't get the right care/the whales hurt each other,

Orcas are complex social creatures deserving freedom and respect, not captivity in theme parks under the guise of public education and entertainment. Aquarium staffs say captive whales are priceless educational tools. However, people can educate their children by bringing them to the wild instead of bringing the wild to them at the expense of the Orcas health and well-being. "The price of a family admission ticket is what continues to drive this cruel spectacle," according to Michael O' Sullivan, the Executive Director of The Humane Society of Canada (Whales in Captivity, 2010, Para. 3). Orcas suffer in many ways in

Baleen whales have long strips (baleen) used to strain out krill from the sea water. Baleen is used in corset stays, umbrella ribls, carriage springs, and fishing poles. It’s also made of kerotin, which is the same substances in our nails. If it wasn't cleaned properly, it would have a horrible stench, which lowered the cost.

Whales are large aquatic mammals. Like every other animal they did not start off like that. Whales came to be after millions of years of evolution. Every aspect of the current whale was decided by nature. The blowhole, dorsal fins, lack of teeth and tail fluke all came from years of other creatures such as the Mesonychids and many other animals.

Whales in captivity suffer through a great amount of emotional abuse . In captivity, Children can be separated from their mothers, and whales that are taken from the wild are separated from their families ,which can consist of up to 40 members (National Geographic). Whales are very family oriented and each pod of whales has their own dialect when communicating. Whales are social creatures and by depriving them of social activity and their families, they become depressed and

Holding killer whales in captivity is a harmful problem to the mammal that requires action from both the government and the public.

Over 420 whale deaths in recent years, the majority of which were calves, suggests that this population and its ecosystem may be less healthy and robust than previously thought ( Fretwell 2014). When the right whale reproduces they tend to swim to coastal waters where they might get hurt and this increase the mortality rate and the fertilization rate. This means that newborn calves are getting killed in coastal waters, but it is a small percentage. Therefore, when these whales grow, they will move to further in the ocean where the can live until the age of 100

Humpback whales can grow to be up to 60 feet in length, and they can weigh as much as 40 tons. Most of the time for humpback whales, the female is longer and heavier that the males (Badertscher). Humpback whales roam all over the world, they will be found in different places depending on what time of the year. Humpbacks typically travel alone or in small groups, called pods, consisting of two or three whales. When whales are together, they communicate with each other and travel together, and moms and their young even touch fins as a possible sign of endearment. The whales back are largely flat with a small dorsal fin located down the far side of its back, however when they are swimming the humpback may arch its back and flukes causing its back to look like a large hump. Sometimes they even help each other hunt. This large Hawaiian marine mammal is part of the baleen whale family and is known to eat a few different small preys such as squid, red fish, tuna, pollock, haddock, mackerel, capelin, salmon and many other types of small fish. The humpback whales large diet makes these whales one of the most diverse eaters within the baleen whale family. While the adult humpback whale is known for its unique diet the baby humpback whales start their journey by consuming milk, which they suck from their mother's nipples until they reach a point where they can hunt for food and survive on their own. Humpback

2) The beluga whale, or Delphinapterus leucas, is the only member of its genus. It shares the Monodont family with one other species, Monodon monoceros, otherwise known as the narwhal. They are in the sub-order Odontoceti, which contains 74 species, and the order Cetacea, which contains 89. This in turn is part of the mammalian clade Cetartiodactyla.

They often are friendly to humans and can be incredibly nosy. There are about 26 different types,or species. One way of identifying different species is through their markings. Bottlenose dolphins are one of the best known of dolphins, and there are many stories of them helping people in trouble. Spotted dolphins are born without spots but develop them as they grow. They appear first on the newborn dolphins belly and spread up. River dolphins have a surprisingly long beaks and, unlike many wheels, can turn their heads. Both these features help them to poke around on the river bed for food. It is easy to identify a Risso’s dolphin.it is covered in white scores the scores are caused by fights with other Risso's