Blue Whales Research Paper

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.

Killer whales captivity is a major issue because they could become sick or injured there. According to Blackfish, orca whales in captivity tend to become hyper aggressive towards new whales. This results in whale on whale incidents where the whales can get severely injured, or can even die. Some examples of these incidents, as The Dodo has said, are a male whale named Nakai had his chin torn off in a fight. Additionally, a female whale named Kandu broke her own jaw and cut her artery in a fight, eventually bleeding to death. Her calf was circling around her during the event. In addition, the Huffington Post states, “animals may suffer from captivity related stresses that lower their resistance and make them more susceptible to disease, making lifespans in captivity significantly lower than in the wild.” To add on, The Dodo states,”One big issue was the terrible state of the orcas' teeth. Captive orcas are already at risk for dental trauma - bored and stressed, they often begin gnawing on the edges of their tanks.” They also state that these occurrences in the wild are very rare. Also, whales like Tilikum got a lung infection due to bacterial pneumonia, which is the most common reason why captive whales and dolphins die (according to Wikipedia). Tilikum had also died due to the disease. This indicates that whale captivity leads to many incidents and diseases that the whales would not have faced in the wild. All these problems are caused due to them being captive.

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.

On average a killer whale in the ocean lives 60 - 70 years a maximum would be 80 - over 100 years. In captivity a female killer whale live to be about 29 years while a male killer whale lives to be about 17. The year gap between wild and captive orcas is so big because the orcas are too large to live in a 50 ft. deep tank. The most appalling fact to know is that the killer whales are the most prone to diseases in captivity, so they will die sooner than the life expectancy if a disease is caught such as broken teeth. Broken teeth occurs often in captivity. Killer whales are consistently getting treated for dental issues but the effects are unsuccessful. Fractured teeth are caused by biting on the steel gates, the killer whales only bite on the gates for one reason in particular that is wanting to be freed back to the ocean home they belong

When Doyle talks about the blue whales heart he emphasizes the size of it comparing it to a "room "and a "house" also that its valves are “as big as the swinging doors in a saloon” that a “child could walk around in” (292). Though that is not strictly true, by comparing into things that we can visualize we can grasp at the idea of what the blue whales heart should look like. Though very little else is known about the blue whale ,we know that " animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs" (292)that suggests that the whale has a joyful life with their partners. Thought that the way it would seem “their penetrating moaning cries, their piercing yearning tongue, can be heard underwater for miles and miles”(292). The larger the heart the greater capacity of love one can give that said it also means the greater the pain one can feel. The constant love one whale feels for its partner can also bring constant pain and fear for its

It’s a average, nice summer day and you and your family decide to see killer whales at SeaWorld. Once you arrive to the place and see the large animals in the tank you’re fascinated by their large size. Killer whales, or orca whales, are large marine mammals that can be found in every ocean around the world. They can swim for hundred of miles and “routinely dive up to 300 ft” (“Should Orca Whales Be Kept in Captivity”). They also live in large family groups known as pods that they will rarely ever leave. Seeing these large animals in the tanks that they make seem small due to their large size and with other whales along with marks, mainly bite marks and flopped over dorsal fin for the males, make it questionable if they even should be here and if these other whales are family in the seemingly makeshift pod. Orcas should not be in captivity because of health problems, lack of space in the tanks, and most of them are taken from their homes in the wild where their true family is.

Killer Whales that live in SeaWorld are unhealthy to the ones compared in the wild. In the documentary Blackfish they went to SeaWorld to ask about the lifespan of a whale. They workers at SeaWorld responded saying they live from 20-30 years and that in SeaWorld they live more (Cowperthwaite). Killer whales life span is like a humans were males will live from 60 to 70 years and females live from 80 to 100. Killer whales that are kept in captivity are cutting their

Occasionally the whales will fight with each other due to stress, but since they are in such a small enclosure they have nowhere to go to get away from each other like they would in the wild. Many orcas that are held in captivity have problems with their teeth and they have to have their teeth drilled. “All captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish”(8 Reasons). Some killer whales also develop infections and the whales are not healthy because they are not fed a healthy diet like they would eat in the ocean.

Occasionally, the whales will fight with each other due to stress, but since they are in such a small enclosure they have nowhere to go to get away from each other like they would in the wild. Many orcas that are held in captivity have problems with their teeth and they have to have their teeth drilled. “All captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish”(8 Reasons). Some killer whales also develop infections and the whales are not healthy because they are not fed a healthy diet like they would eat in the ocean.

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

Of course, no whale is more important than the other. However, the Humpback Whale is the most marvelous creature of all of them. A typical Humpback Whale is 40 tons, and grows up to 40 to 60 feet long. It is known as the fifth largest whale in the world. Humpbacks are known as omnivores. This means that they eat fish and plants in the ocean. The worldwide population of a Humpback is at least 80,000 whales in all. They are known to be migrants just like other baleen whales. Unfortunately, these innocent Humpbacks are currently endangered. Many of them are endangered, because whale hunters kill them for the supply of oil and baleen. Humpbacks are compelling mammals because they have a detailed body, odd habits, a diverse diet, and a vast habitat.

The Blue whale has two flippers that are close the chest along with two blowholes that make navigating the ocean better. The Blue whale is the largest animal known to man with lengths and width of 29.9 meters. Whales bodies coloration is grey-white on the ventral side while the dorsal side is blue-gray. Nearly 2,000-9,000 pounds of Krill can fill a fully grown Blue whale daily, nearly 8,000 pounds of Krill is eaten during the whales peak consumption period. The next organism I identified is the Antartctic krill that is 6 centimeters in length. This animals is consumed by many marine animals such as the Blue whale, but what does the krill eat? The Antartctic krill consumes phytoplankton which is a componet of the Plankton family. Although the krill is transparent, it has coloration such as red, pink, yellow and blue.

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

There are currently 86 recognized species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. 14 are Mysticetes or baleen whales. These whales feed using a filtering system made up of baleen plates, which allow the whale to feed on large quantities of prey at once while filtering out sea water.