Are you curious to learn some weird and wonderful facts about whales?
If so, excellent! You are in exactly the right place my friend…
It’s time to chat about whale facts.
Let’s dive right in…
Facts About Whales
1 – Whales are mammals that range in size from the 20-foot, 200-pound pygmy right whale to the 100-foot, 150 ton blue whale.
2 – The word ‘whale’ comes from an Old English word meaning “big fish”.
3 – Humpbacks have barnacles on their head and back which may help them find food by sensing vibrations in water.
4 – A blue whale’s heart is the size of a small car.
5 – Blue whales can live up to 80 years old in the wild and 90 years old in captivity.
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6 – Whales have a protective layer of blubber that helps them stay warm in cold water.
7 – A group of whales is called a pod or school.
8 – Whales breathe air into lungs when they surface and release it through their blowhole when they dive underwater again.
9 – The blue whale has the biggest penis out of all animals – 2.5 metres to 3 metres long and 30 centimetres wide.
10 – Whale milk has 50% more fat than cow’s milk, which makes it richer and creamier – this helps baby whales grow quickly so that they can live longer underwater before coming up for air.
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11 – They have lungs, not gills.
12 – The longest recorded blue whale was 109 feet long.
13 – Some whales make loud calls that sound like moans or groans when they’re hunting for food or communicating with other whales. Whale songs range from simple melodies to complex compositions of many different sounds and tones.
14 – Whale songs can be heard for miles underwater.
15 – In 1986 whaling was banned by international law, although some countries continue to hunt them illegally. Whale meat was once used as an alternative source of protein but it has been banned in many countries due to its high mercury levels.
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16 – In some cultures, whale meat is considered a delicacy or even an aphrodisiac.
17 – Different whale species live a different length of time – from 20 to 20 to 100 years old.
18 – Whales are not fish! They are warm blooded mammals while fish are cold-blooded.
19 – A blue whale calf drinks about 180 liters (50 gallons) of milk each day for up to six months.
20 – The throat of a blue whale can hold 2,000 gallons of water.
More Facts About Whales
21 – A female blue whale will only give birth to one calf at a time – it takes 10 months for their baby to develop inside her womb before it’s born and measures up to 11 meters long!
22 – They were hunted almost to extinction by commercial whalers until 1972 when they were given protected status under international law.
23 – The longest recorded song by a humpback was 18 minutes long.
24 – Some whales can be found as far south as Antarctica and as far north as Alaska.
25 – The word whale is an old English word that means “big fish” or “big water creature”. A newborn baby whale is called a calf.
Scientists believe there are about 90 species of living today.
