Comparing Sperm Whales

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.

The Blue Whale’s heart is the size of Volkswagen Beetle and the arteries are big enough for a baby to crawl through, they are 9 inches in diameter. The Blue Whales cruise the ocean at more than 5 miles per hour, although when agitated they can reach speeds of 20 miles per hour. Blue Whales communicate and and navigate the oceans by a series of pulses, moans, and groans. Blue Whales can hear much lower frequencies than us and their senses, such as hearing, is adapted to living in an ocean environment. Blue Whales can hear each other up to 1,000 miles away. This is equal to the distance between Memphis, Tennessee to Miami, Florida. The oldest Blue Whale found was 110 years old, only 12 years younger than the oldest person to ever live, Jeanne Calment (122 years old.) Female Blue Whales are larger than male Blue Whales by about 4 feet. Blue Whales are the loudest animals on Earth, their calls are louder than a jet engine. Blue Whales use sound to find their way through oceans, detect food, and communicate with one

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

The ocean is a vast biome that is constantly changing. There is much to learn about the life within, the article “Omura's whales (Balaenoptera omurai) off northwest Madagascar: ecology, Behavior and conservation needs” showed how our knowledge of the ocean and the life within continues to grow. Balaenoptera omurai, or Omura's whale was only found as a new species in the year 2003. Their are no dependable population size estimates or evaluation of conservation facts because there is not enough data collected on these cetaceans. Scientists are able apply what they learn from some of these organism to humans. In the article “Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales” scientists were able to draw comparisons between Humans and other species.

Killer whales are apex predators, lacking natural predators of their own, and inhabit all of the worlds oceans and most of our seas. They vary broadly in behavior, diet, and communication patterns. There are three main sympatric ecotypes of killer whales present in the Pacific Northwest, known as “resident”, “transient” and “offshore” killer whales. Of these, the resident whales of the Salish sea have been by far the most heavily studied. Their prey is salmon, chinook salmon in particular, and they hunt cooperatively. The resident pods are divided into “northern residents” and “southern residents”, the latter being comprized of three pods (J, K, and L). These three pods are well researched, as their markings and distinct calls make identification extraordinarily accessible to human scientists. Orca are distinct among mammals for the long post-reprodutive life of female orca, who provides extensive parental care even after menopause. Numerous studies have shown a clear correlation between the mother’s survival and the offsprings fitness. This paper will explore the matrilinal social structures of Puget Sound’s orcas to assess the evolutionary advantages to close mother-son relations. In particular, it will examine the difference in behavior of female and male offspring upon reaching sexual maturity, and relate this to similarities or differences in parental care output from male and

In the article, “Sperm Whales and Killer Whales with the Largest Brain of All Toothed Whales Show Extreme Differences in Cerebellum” the author Sam H. Ridgway studies the cerebellums of the most widest distributed whales in the world. The killer whale and the sperm whale both have huge brains, but this study suggests why the killer whales have a significantly larger cerebellum than that of the sperm whale. After collecting, measuring, and preserving the species, the skull was ready to be chipped away and the brain ready to be taken from the massive cranium. Once extracted, the brain was measured to determine the cerebellar volume: (length of cerebellum base × width of the base × height × 1/3).

The earliest whales were land animals with long skulls and carnivorous teeth. Analysis of whale skulls showed major morphological changes, including changes to the skull size, shape, teeth, and nostrils. Fossil evidence shows that the trait of interest, the nostrils, can be found on fossils of the earliest whales, dating back to about 50 million years ago. Evolution occurred multiple times since then, each time resulting in the nostrils migrating further back on the skull. Eventually, the pair of nostrils positioned itself right on top of the head. These nostrils are the blowholes we see positioned on top of modern whales today. In addition, another momentous change in the nostrils occur when order Cetacea splits into Mysticetes and Odontocetes. Suborder Mysticetes

Male killer whales typically live up to 30 years in the wild but can live for as long as 60 years. Female killer whales typically live up to 50 years but they can live as long as 100 years (“Killers”). In captivity, only a few out of the more than 200 whales that have been either captured in the wild or bred at the marine parks have lived beyond 40 years (Rose). Female killer whales become sexually active between 6-10 years of age and males between 10-13 years of age. Female killer whales in the wild are thought to breed every three to five years and nurse their calves for the first one to two years. The gestation period for the pregnancy is seventeen months (“Welcome”). Killer whales are very social animals and are commonly found in pods of as few as 3 to more than 25 animals including at least one large male. Killer whales typically stay in their pods for their entire lives. Various pods of killer whales have been observed mixing with other pods either for social interactions or mating (“Killer”). They communicate through a series of whistle and clicks, which can be modulated by pitch and multiple harmonics. Pulsed calls are the most common form of vocalization that resembles squeaks, screams, and squawks to the human ear (“Killer”). Killer whales are actually pack hunters, like wolves, coordinating their attack and herding their prey into a small area. They are called killer whales due to the fact that

Baleen whales are mammals, which means that they are warm-blooded and breathe air using their lungs. That sounds interesting considering that they live in ocean waters, but they have two blowholes at the top of their body that allows them to breathe when they reach the surface of the water.

Killer whales, who swim up to 100 miles a day in the ocean, are confined to pools which are, at most, 40 feet deep.

The Eubalaena Glacialis can be found swimming along the shores of the coasts of Sweden, Greenland, Canada and the east coast of the United States. The whale is very easy to identify with its long dark grey body with a v shaped blow hole and no dorsal fin (Endangered wildlife of the world). The whale is a very slow swimmer, which is what made it an easy target for whalers. The whale has a massive arching mouth that starts at its tiny pair of black eyes. It primary eats, zooplankton, copepods, euphausiids, and cyprids (Endangered wildlife of the world). The whale travels in large groups but the social structure is unclear to scientists. The life span of the whale is 50 years but there is few data on the permanence of right whales (WWF.com).

For Reproducing, the style that the killer whale does it, is quite interesting. For starters the killer whales are completely different than any other whale aside from the fact that they are in the dolphin family they don’t fit the norm of what is to be considered on how a whale should behave. Where as most whales of other breeds have a strict pattern and ways of how its governed in nature in their pods. Where as the killer whale, they follow their rules and no one else’s. For example, where most whales would travel 16,000 miles to mate and feed, the Killer whale are known to only follow the migration patterns that coexist with their food and are far less concern with where they would like to mate. As to how many off springs are made the

Killer whales, also known as Orca’s, are the largest members of the dolphin family and the top predator in their ecosystem. They are one of the most intelligent marine creatures, especially due to their acute senses of sight and hearing. The word Orca means connection and leadership. People travel from all over the world just to catch a glimpse of the astounding whale. Their beauty has mesmerized humans for generations, but for many Orca’s, captivity limits their freedom and enjoyment of life. In 1965, orca poaching was at its prime. Over a thousand whales were being captured for either greed or for the purpose of captivity (Timeline of Commercial Whaling Muller). Captivity is a prison for many orcas, it not only damages the whale’s health, but also has a negative impact on breeding, and the danger of humans.

Ocean giants that have captured the imagination of humans for centuries, whales are among the largest mammals on earth. This diverse group of animals has over 75 separate species, and are considered by scientists to be some of the most intelligent animals on the planet. While modern whales spend their entire lives in water, they are air-breathing mammals whose ancestors roamed land millions of years ago. With so many interesting facts about whales, once question can be easily overlooked: Do whales have (teeth)?

Danny the Dolphin and Willy the Whale wer sitting down one day talking about taxes and how the gas price went up .28 cents. While they were finishing their discussion the doorbell rang and the U.P.S. man entered the room with a box entitled to “Danny the Dolphin”. When Danny opened the box he saw a card for Valentines day. As he read the intriguing words of love he was astonished on how much they touched his heart and soul, it read, “Will you be my Valentine, From : Clarissa the Sea Cow.” After he finished reading it he said his goodbyes the Willy and ventured of into the wonders, hoping to find his Valentine. As he walked around the neighborhood he asked many people but one answer showed higher hoped than the rest of them. One manatee