Whales are the biggest mammal on earth.Whales can grow 95 feet long and weight 150 tons. Baby whales can grow 23 meters long and weight 3 tons. Altough whales live in the ocean and seems like a fish, but they are mammals.They breathe through their lungs and hold their breathe when they go under water. If they can not come to the surface to breathe fresh air, they will be drown.
In the winter, they go to warm water to breed. In the summer, they go to cold water to feed. There are two kind of whales. Whales with teeth called toothed whales and whales without teeth called baleen whales. The toothed whales eat fish and squid, but the baleen whales eat small fish and plankton. They swallow their food without chewing it.
Whales are very attractive animal, they can perform a variety of movement. There are :
1. Breaching
When a whale leaps out of the water, sometimes twirling around, it is called breaching. This action may be purely for play, or may be used to loosen skin parasites and other irritations the whale might have. Breaching is also believed to be a means of communication with other whales and is usually done in sets of between four and six.
When a whale leaps out of the water, sometimes twirling around, it is called breaching. This action may be purely for play, or may be used to loosen skin parasites and other irritations the whale might have. Breaching is also believed to be a means of communication with other whales and is usually done in sets of between four and six.
2. Spyhopping
An activity in which the whale pokes its head out of the water, possibly to take a look around.
3. Lobtailing
This is an activity in which the animal sticks its tail out of the water, swings it around and then slaps it onto the water's surface. This produces a loud sound which is believed to be a means of communication between whales.
This is an activity in which the animal sticks its tail out of the water, swings it around and then slaps it onto the water's surface. This produces a loud sound which is believed to be a means of communication between whales.
4. Logging
This is when the whale is merely lying in the water, with its tail hanging down. Part of the head and back are exposed.
This is when the whale is merely lying in the water, with its tail hanging down. Part of the head and back are exposed.
Whales have something unique, like dolphins communicate by means of sonar. They make clicking,
grunting and whistling sounds which also act as a means of
echolocation. These can be heard for miles under water, and can also be
heard from above water. Whales are also thought to communicate by
slamming their tails against the surface of the ocean which produces a
loud splashing sound, an action called lobtailing. When whales breach,
they are also thought to be communicating with other whales.
(Source: http://www.hermanus.co.za/whales.asp)
(Source: http://www.hermanus.co.za/whales.asp)
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