Whale Facts
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- Whales (cetaceans) are divided into two groups: toothed and baleen whales. Toothed whales, include all porpoises and dolphins and Orcas and the Sperm whale. Baleen whales have giant comb-like structures on their jaws that are used to sift food, such as shrimp-like krill, from the water. Southern Rights are slowing moving baleen whales while Humpback and Blue whales are faster swimming baleen whales with a more torpedo-like shape. - Baleen whales eat up to 4000 KG of fish and krill daily. They feed for only half the year in the cold, rich waters of their summer feeding grounds and store huge amounts of fat, or blubber, to get them through the breeding season. - The largest whale is the Blue whale, which can grow up to 100 feet long and weigh up to 190 tons. - The unicorn-like Narwhal has the longest tooth - a spear-like tusk that can grow to be more than 9 feet long. - The deep-diving Sperm whale can go down about 150-200 metres and stay down for more than an hour. - Orcas, or killer whales, are the fastest cetaceans, capable of swimming up to speeds of 30 miles per hour. - The Humpback has the longest flippers -- they can be more than 3 metres long. Extra Ideas for Students: 1. Study the two groups of whales - baleen and toothed - and do drawings of their shape as well as mouths. See if you can discover which group the following fall into: the Blue Whale, the Sperm whale, the Killer Whale, the Bottle-nosed Dolphin, the Humpback whale, the Narwhal. 2. For extra information go to: http://www.whalesfilm.com/whales.htm 3. Watch the film, Whale Rider, which is a story set in New Zealand and also deals with a young girl's sense of identity, or the film, When the Whales Came. For for an exciting visual experience see if you can find an IMAX production of Whales or the documentary film The Blue Planet. 4. To listen to whale songs: http://www.worldzone.net/travel/sawc/whalesong.html
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