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As whales reach the water surface to breathe, they forcefully expel air through the blowhole. The exhalation is released into the comparably lower-pressure, colder atmosphere, and any water vapor condenses. This spout, known as the blow, is often visible from far away as a white splash, which can also be caused by water resting on top of the ...
The killer whales regularly demonstrate their competence by chasing seals up shelving gravel beaches, up to the edge of the water. The pursuing whales are occasionally partially thrust out of the sea by a combination of their own impetus and retreating water, and have to wait for the next wave to re-float them and carry them back to sea.
Humpback whale breach sequence. A breach or a lunge is a leap out of the water, also known as cresting. The distinction between the two is fairly arbitrary: cetacean researcher Hal Whitehead defines a breach as any leap in which at least 40% of the animal's body clears the water, and a lunge as a leap with less than 40% clearance. [2]
Sperm whales have the largest brain mass of any animal on Earth, averaging 8,000 cm 3 (490 in 3) and 7.8 kg (17 lb) in mature males. [23] The brain to body mass ratio in some odontocetes, such as belugas and narwhals, is second only to humans. [24] In some whales, however, it is less than half that of humans: 0.9% versus 2.1%. [citation needed]
Researchers studying the majestic creatures have discovered the animals aren't just jumping for fun -- it's an important way to communicate.
Whales do not form a clade or order; the infraorder Cetacea includes dolphins and porpoises, which are not considered whales in the informal sense. [ citation needed ] The phylogenetic tree shows the relationships of whales and other mammals, with whale groups [ citation needed ] marked in green.
The tight spaces cause high levels of stress and anxiety which results in violence to other whales and even death of whale trainers. Wild orcas can travel up to 62 miles a day, but captive orcas ...
The cured skin is the only cetacean skin that is sufficiently thick to be used as leather, and was used to manufacture some of the first bulletproof vests. [ 143 ] [ 154 ] [ 155 ] Russia had large hunts, peaking in the 1930s at 4,000 per year and the 1960s at 7,000 per year, for a total of 86,000 from 1915 to 2014.