Whales: 12 Facts About Whales

Whales come in two classifications:
those with teeth and those without.

   The whale, a large marine animal, some species of which are the largest animals in existence. Though often classed as a fish, the whale bears only a superficial resemblance to the fishes. The tapering body terminating in a finlike tail and the fin-shaped paddle on each side of the body are the only points of similarity, while the dissimilarities are numerous and fundamental.

12 Facts About Whales:

1. The whale first of all, is a mammal, bearing its young alive, and suckling it in infancy.
2. It has well-developed brain and lungs, and warm blood, which circulates through veins and arteries. 
3. Its bones, joints and muscles are like those of the higher land mammals. 
4. The forelimbs contain the same bones as do those of other mammals. These are proportionately short, and, instead of toes, there is a paddle, about seven feet long, formed by a continuous skin; while in the rear part of the body are rudimentary bones which indicate the existence of hind legs in remote ancestors. 
5. The organ of locomotion is the fin-shaped tail, which is also used for purposes of defense. 
6. The whale is a shy creature and becomes combative only when attacked. 
7. When aroused it can capsize a large vessel with its tail, which is from five to six feet long and twenty to twenty-five feet broad, and destroy smaller craft by ramming it with its blunt nose.
8. Two distinguishing characteristics of whales are the proportionately large head, which is usually a third of the entire length of the body, and the thick layer of fat beneath the skin, which protects the animal from the cold. 
9. This fat, called blubber, was cut from the captured animal and reduced to oil many years ago. Before mineral oils came into general use, whale oil was burned in lamps in every part of the world.
10. The eyes of whales are small and there is usually only one nostril, frequently S-shaped, situated on top of the head. It is closed by a plug-like valve, opened only by pressure from inside. 
11. When the whale comes to the surface it expels the air from its lungs with great force through this nostril; and the hot, moisture-laden breath condensing in the cold air produces a column of vapor several yards high. 
12. The notion that a whale takes water into its mouth and blows it out through this hole is erroneous. The whale's mouth is large, but the throat is very small; however, a species known as the Greenland whale has a throat large enough to admit a man's body.

Two Classes of Whales:

       Whales usually are divided into two classes - the whalebone whales and those having teeth. The toothless whales were commercially the more important, and are hunted for both oil and whalebone, which latter is taken from the animal's mouth. The roof of the mouth is provided with vertical horny plates, called baleen, about 500 in number. These plates hang from the roof of the mouth in a fringe ten or twelve feet long. This equipment serves as a sieve for straining out the minute animals on which these whales feed. The surface waters of the ocean teem with animal life, and whales in feeding swim with open mouth at high speed near the surface, traveling in this way until hunger is satisfied. The manufacture of cheap substitutes for whalebone greatly decreased the commercial importance of whalebone whales.

       The toothed whales are the larger, attaining a length of ninety feet and a weight of seventy tons. The young when born are from ten to fourteen feet long. Of these the sperm whale was the most valuable to hunters. The blubber produced sperm oil, while the oil of the head yielded spermaceti, used in making candles and cosmetics. Other valuable products made from this whale long ago were ambergris, found in the intestines and used in making perfumes.

Learn More About Whales From The Web:

• James Nestor Speaks About Sperm Whales
• A Man Among Orcas - documentary
• Closest Whale Encounters
• The Giant Blue Whale
• See 40 Ton Humpback Whale Leap Entirely Out of The Water!
• A Magical Day with A Right Whale
• Why Right Whales Were Named "Right"

       Before the middle of the eighteenth century whaling was an important industry, but since the discovery of petroleum it has rapidly declined. Modern whaling operations are conducted with swift vessels, and the whales are killed by harpoons shot from guns. On every coast where whale fishing is conducted there are stations along the shore to which the carcasses are towed and cut up and prepared for market. Since 1986, IWC, has banned the fishing for whales except by aboriginal peoples.

Save The Whales From Extinction:

• Save The Whales
• Endangered whales: North American right whales are dying in record numbers

See People Work Hard To Save These Endangered Giants:

• See people save a whale on the Santa Barbara beach
• 7 Orcas stranded in La Caleta
• New Zealanders Race to Save 400 Stranded Whales

Now People Perform For Whales:

• 7th Regiment Small Brass Ensemble Performs for Beluga Whale
• Mariachi Connecticut Serenades a Beluga Whale