2/2/2024 0 Comments Sperm whale![]() It follows Ishmael, a sailor in search of a giant sperm whale named Moby Dick so that he can get his revenge.ġ1. Moby Dick is a classic American novel written by Herman Melville. A sperm whale inspired the famous literary work “Moby Dick” In general, whales will reach sexual maturity between the ages of 7 to 13 years.ĭuring this time, they will stay under the protection of their pods. Calves are enormous at birthĪfter a gestation period of over a year, females give birth to one calf which can be over 4 metres in length. They take 15-minute naps as they gradually float back up. To sleep, they will dive down and position themselves into a vertical orientation with their heads directed towards the water’s surface. Over the course of a day, sperm whales only spend less than 10% of their time sleeping. When they sleep, they float in a vertical position with their heads facing the surface Like dolphins, sperm whales use echolocation to navigate the oceans and detect other objects. This far surpasses the volume required to burst a human’s eardrum. They are the loudest animals on the planetīeneath water, sperm whales can produce echolocations and clicks measuring approximately 200 decibels. Only the southern elephant seal and Cuvier’s beaked whale are thought to have dived deeper.ħ. The deepest dive completed by a sperm whale reached depths of approximately 3,000 metres-that is almost 3 kilometers below the surface! Sperm whales are one of the deepest diving mammals on earth Their unique respiratory systems allow them to effectively store oxygen in their lungs. Sperm whales can stay under water for up to 90 minutes at a time. They have exceptionally large lung capacities It is suspected that whales engage in this behavior as a form of communicating.ĥ. Sperm whales have been frequently observed breaching. They are frequent breachersĪlmost all whales have the ability to breach (breaking the surface and jumping almost completely out of the water) however, some do so more than others. ![]() Adult whales can be seen with scars on their heads from the beaks of giant squid. Giant squid can be the same size or bigger than sperm whales and will fight viciously with them. They have often been found with scars, injuries, and “sucker marks” indicating some gruesome encounters with giant squid. There are legends about their battles with giant squidĪs deep divers, sperm whale are limited to prey that can thrive at these remarkable depths. Other toothed whales include oceanic dolphins, beaked whales, killer whales, and beluga whales. On their upper jaw, they have vestigial teeth that remain embedded within the whale’s gums. Conical in shape, these teeth are perfect for puncturing and tearing apart prey. On their lower jaw, sperm whales have between 36 to 50 teeth. They are the largest of the toothed whalesĪdult males can weigh up to 80 tonnes, which is the equivalent of 800 people. Sperm whales have a distinctive shape, with a large block-shaped head, which can make up one third of the whales entire length. They have the largest brain of any animal to have ever lived on EarthĪdult sperm whales can have brains weighing up to 20 pounds, measuring approximately 500 cubic inches in size.The human brain, in comparison, measures about 80 cubic inches. Now, hunting is banned in most places however, populations have yet to bounce back fully, and they remain a vulnerable species. In the 1800s and 1900s, sperm whales were hunted for their meat, oil, and other parts, causing their numbers to drop drastically. Males are usually solitary, but do return to groups to socialize and breed. They migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding and live in matriarchal groups called pods, with mothers and calves. They can dive for more than an hour at a time, and diet on giant squid, colossal squid, octopus, and sharks. These magnificent animals can be found all around the globe in marine waters deeper than 3,000 feet below the surface. They are the largest of 73 species that make up toothed whales, growing up to nearly 21m (69 feet) in length and weighing up to 80 tonnes. Sperm whales are a species in the sperm whale family, which includes the pygmy sperm whale, and the dwarf sperm whale – both of which are from a different genus, Kogia. Their name is based on spermaceti, a wax-like substance that is found inside their heads, which can be used in lamps and candles (that scientists first believed to be sperm). They are characterized by a series of recognizable bumps on its dorsal surface, thick flukes, and an extremely large head. They are sometimes called the ‘Cachalot’, and are the worlds largest predator. The sperm whale is a carnivorous marine mammal and the only living member of the Physeter genus.
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