Whale watching. How and under what conditions do whales reproduce? How long does a blue whale live?

In the world it is blue. This gigantic creature is almost 33 meters long! Figuratively speaking, 30 African or Indian elephants could fit on it!

If we talk about where a whale of such unusual size lives, then these are the open seas and oceans around the world. However, this habitat is not only for blue whales, but for all living whales in general.

Lords of the Sea

It is interesting that several million years ago the ancestors of today’s cetaceans lived on land, and unlike their descendants, they first moved to shallow water, hiding there from their enemies and at the same time hunting small animals, and after some time they completely went to sea. At the same time, the hair completely disappeared from their body, and their front legs turned into fins. The tail took on the shape necessary for comfortable swimming - not vertical, like that of fish, but horizontal.

So, we found out where the whale lives. Let's "float" on!

From the life of whales

The sperm whale, for example, can dive to depths of up to three thousand meters! And all this is thanks to a thick layer of fat, which allows them to dive to such depths, as well as the air retained in the whale’s overgrown nostril, like in a bag. This gives him the opportunity not to float to the surface for two whole hours. If we talk about how long a whale lives, then this figure reaches 50 years. Whales are viviparous animals. They give birth to live babies, feeding them with milk, which, by the way, is 10 times more nutritious than cow's milk! Thanks to this, little whales grow very quickly. It is worth noting that these animals have excellent vision, touch, hearing and more... It has been proven that they navigate with the help of other senses - analyzers. Whales are able to detect ultrasound and infrasound; they communicate with each other using various sounds. Among other things, whales are very smart animals that are easy to train!

Where does the whale live - in the tropics or in the ice?

Whales are distributed throughout the globe, because there are no barriers to their movement in the seas and oceans. They live in flocks, preferring the same place in a certain season, but nevertheless, they have to swim long distances. Depending on the species, whales are divided into heat-loving and cool-water lovers. For example, the white whale (or beluga whale) lives in polar waters, while killer whales live in tropical or subtropical waters.

The phenomenon of “suicide”

This is a common occurrence in the life of whales. Washing ashore, the animal dies.

According to one version, this happens because people are very strong. Another version says that it is all due to their own ultrasounds, which sometimes fail the whales. Swimming underwater, the animal sends an ultrasonic signal ahead of itself, and in the event of an obstacle, it is reflected from it and comes back to the whale (like bats), which, knowing full well that there is an obstacle ahead, turns off. But if the shore is quite flat, then the ultrasonic signal will not be reflected from it, which misinforms the whale: it thinks that there is water ahead and is thrown onto land at high speed! Take care of the whales - save them!

Everyone has long known that the largest animal in the world is the blue whale, or it is also called the blue whale.

(Blue whale photo #1)

A huge mammal can accommodate up to 2 tons of food in one meal, and a blue whale is up to 34 meters long. A how many tons does a blue whale weigh?, this size? Of the baleen whales, the blue whale is the largest, and it weighs about 150 tons as an adult, the same as 2,400 people weigh. Now imagine how much its insides weigh! The tongue of this giant weighs 3 tons, and its heart is so large that even a child can fit inside it and the heart of a blue whale weighs 700 kg. Look. photo No. 1. This heart pumps about 10 tons of blood throughout the blue whale’s huge body.

(Blue whale photo #2)

(Blue whale photo #3)

How much does a Gangetic dolphin weigh? – 90 kg

How much does a Guinea Pig weigh? – 120 kg

How much does the Beaked Whale weigh? - 1-1.5 tons

How much does the Maui Dolphin weigh? - 40 kg

How much does Belukha weigh? - 2 tons

How much does an Amazonian dolphin weigh? – 10-205 kg

How much does Narwhal weigh? - 1.5 tons

Weight of whales with baleen.

How much does the Northern Right Whale weigh? – 40-70 tons

How much does a bowhead whale weigh? - 75-100 tons

How much does Stripe Bride weigh? - 16-25 tons

How much does Keith Sevile weigh? - 30 tons

How much does the Southern Whale weigh? – 80 tons

How much does the Gray Whale weigh? - 15-35 tons

How much does the Minke Whale weigh? – 5 tons

How much does Keith Finwal weigh? - 40-70 tons

How much does a humpback whale weigh? - 48 tons

Watching noble animals - whales, we admire their size, weight and grace of movement in the water, involuntarily asking ourselves the question, how could faceless, unreasonable nature come up with and create such a miracle? Whales are a masterpiece of Someone, highly intelligent and omnipotent, who sculpted these beautiful sea creatures.

The blue whale belongs to the group of baleen whales, which are the largest animals that have ever existed on Earth. Moreover, it is its largest representative. Scientists estimate that the size and mass of these cetaceans exceed those of dinosaurs.

Blue whale habitats

Representatives of this family live in all seas and oceans of the globe. They can be found in cold waters from the Chukchi Sea and Greenland to Antarctica. They feel no less wonderful in the Indian Ocean, in the warm waters near the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The largest individuals are representatives of the southern subspecies and near Yuzhny. In the waters of the Northern Hemisphere, on the contrary, a dwarf subspecies of these cetaceans is found. It is distinguished by its relatively small size: its representatives, as a rule, are 2-3 meters smaller than their counterparts.

You can admire these animals in the Gulf of Anden and in the Seychelles area. However, to monitor them best place considered to be water areas near Sri Lanka. Here blue whales appear with enviable regularity, which attracts the attention of many tourists.

The permanent habitat of these animals can be called the territory from the American state of Oregon to the Kuril Islands. They often find themselves near Iceland, Norway, and Spitsbergen. Mariners noted the appearance of large individuals off the Canadian coast, near Denmark and Nova Scotia. In Russian territorial waters, blue whales are most often found in the Pacific Ocean, Chukchi Sea, northeast of Sakhalin.

Features of blue whale migration

These animals do not show preference for any particular sea or ocean. They feel equally good in any of them. But the summer is spent in the waters of Antarctica, the North Atlantic, and the Chukchi Sea. As cold weather approaches, they move to warmer places. In the northern hemisphere, blue whales winter at the latitudes of southern Japan, in the southern hemisphere - near Australia, Peru, and Madagascar.

These movements are largely due to the fact that the baby whales need warmth; during the short summer they do not have time to build up the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer necessary to survive in cold waters. Therefore, females take them to more favorable living conditions. A whale busy with food production moves at a speed of 10-15 km/h. But if the animal is scared and senses danger, it can increase to 35-40 km/h.

A whale is a sea monster. In the literal sense of the word. After all, this is exactly how the Greek word is translated, from which the name of this amazing animal comes - κῆτος. A lot can be said about marine inhabitants belonging to the order Cetaceans. But it’s worth dwelling on the most interesting facts.

Name

The first step is to answer the question that worries many. And it sounds like this: “Is a whale a fish or a mammal?” The second of the proposed options is correct.

The whale is a large marine mammal that is not related to porpoises or dolphins. Although they are included in the order Cetacea (cetaceans). In general, the situation with names is very interesting. Pilot whales and killer whales, for example, are considered whales. Although, in accordance with the strict official classification, they are dolphins, which few people know.

And it is better to trust a strict classification, since in the old days leviathans were called whales - sea monsters with many heads that could devour the planet. In a word, the name has an interesting story.

Origin

Well, the question “Is a whale a fish or a mammal?” was answered above. Now we can talk about the types of these creatures.

To begin with, it is worth noting that all whales are descendants of land mammals. Moreover, those who belonged to the orders of artiodactyls! This is not fiction, but a scientifically proven fact that was established after molecular genetic examinations. There is even a monophyletic group (clade) that includes whales, hippopotamuses and all artiodactyls. All of them are cetaceans. According to research, whales and hippos descended from the same creature that lived on our planet about 54 million years ago.

Units

So, now - about the types of whales. Or rather, about suborders. The first species is baleen whales. They are the largest of modern mammals. Their physiological feature is a mustache with a filter-like structure.

The second species is toothed whales. Carnivorous, fast creatures. They are superior to toothless whales. Only the sperm whale can compare in size with them. And their feature, as you might have guessed, is the presence of teeth.

And the third species is ancient whales. Those that no longer exist. They belong to a paraphyletic group of animals from which modern species of whales later evolved.

Anatomical features

Now it’s worth considering the description of the whale from a physiological point of view. This animal is a mammal, and it is warm-blooded. Accordingly, each whale breathes with the help of its lungs, and the females feed their calves with milk. And these creatures have hair, albeit reduced.

Because these mammals are exposed to the sun, their skin has protection from ultraviolet rays. True, it is expressed differently in each species. The blue whale, for example, can increase the content of special pigments in its skin that absorb radiation (say in simple language, he “sunbathes”). The sperm whale defends itself against oxygen radicals by triggering a “stress response.” The fin whale practices both methods.

By the way, these creatures maintain their warm-bloodedness due to the presence of a thick fatty layer under the skin. He is the one who protects internal organs marine animals from hypothermia.

Oxygen absorption process

It is also interesting to talk about how whales breathe. These mammals can stay under water for a minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 40. However, there is a record holder, and it is the sperm whale, which is able to stay under water for 1.5 hours.

The external nostrils of these creatures are located at the top of the head. They have special valves that reflexively close the airways when the whale dives into the water. At the moment of surfacing, they open. It is important to know that the airway does not connect to the esophagus. So the whale absorbs air safely, without harm to itself. Even if there is water in his mouth. And by the way, speaking about how whales breathe, it is worth noting that they do it quickly. Speed is facilitated by shortened bronchi and trachea. By the way, their lungs are very powerful. In one breath, the whale renews its air by 90%. And people are only 15%.

It is worth noting that at the moment of surfacing, a column of condensed steam emerges through the nostrils (also called the blowhole). The same fountain, which is business card whales This occurs due to the fact that the whale exhales warm air, which comes into contact with the outside (cold) air. So the fountain is the result of temperature effects. The column of steam varies in height and shape among different whales. The most impressive are the “fountains” of large mammals. They come out of their blowhole with such enormous power that the process is accompanied by a loud trumpet sound. In good weather it can be heard from the shore.

Food

It’s worth saying a few words about what whales eat. The diet of animals is varied. Toothed whales, for example, eat fish, cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish) and in some cases mammals.

Whiskered representatives feed on plankton. They absorb a huge volume of crustaceans, filtering it from the water or using their baleen. These animals can also eat small fish.

The most interesting thing is that in winter whales hardly eat. And for this reason, in the summer they continuously consume food. This approach helps them accumulate a thick layer of fat.

By the way, they need a lot of food. Large whales consume about three tons of food per day.

Bright representative

The blue whale deserves special attention. This is the largest animal that has ever existed on our planet. It reaches 33 meters in length and weighs about 150 tons.

By the way, the blue whale is a representative of the baleen suborder. Feeds on plankton. It has a well-developed filtering apparatus, due to which it filters the absorbed mass inside.

There are three subspecies of this animal. There is a dwarf, southern and northern whale. The last two live in cold circumpolar waters. The dwarf is found in tropical seas.

It is believed that blue whales live for about 110 years. In any case, that was the size of the oldest individual that people have encountered.

Unfortunately, the blue whale is not a very common marine creature. In the 20th century, uncontrolled hunting began for these animals. By the middle of the last century, only 5 thousand individuals remained throughout the world. People did a terrible thing by exterminating them. Emergency security measures were taken. At the moment, the number of individuals has doubled, but blue whales are still at risk.

Belukha

This is a representative of the toothed whales of the narwhal family. The beluga whale is not very large. Its weight reaches only 2 tons, and its length is 6 meters. Beluga whales have excellent hearing, acute perception of any sounds, and the ability to echolocation. In addition, these are social creatures - there are known cases in which these whales saved a person. They get along well in aquariums, over time they get used to people, and even become attached to workers.

Their diet is varied. Beluga whales eat cod, flounder, herring, clams, algae, shrimp, lamprey, rib jellyfish, pink salmon, gobies, blennies, crayfish and many other sea creatures that are suitable for food.

These creatures, like many others, also suffered due to human cruelty. Whalers easily drove them onto the shallows, and the belugas literally crashed. But at the moment this species is gradually restoring its numbers. Let's just hope people don't ruin anything.

There are dozens of other representatives of cetaceans, and all are special and interesting in their own way. And we hope that every species that we know of will survive. The marine world should not lose any of them, as each of them is a true wonder and natural treasure.

The blue whale is a huge mammal and the largest animal on the planet, living in the waters of the World Ocean, and also called the blue whale or vomit. The animals are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book, since they were actively exterminated by humans until the 60s of the 20th century, until hunting for them was prohibited. According to rough estimates by scientists, the number of blue whales currently does not exceed 10 thousand individuals.

The blue whale has a slender, elongated body, its length reaches 33 m, and its weight ranges from 150 to 200 tons. To imagine such a mass, one comparison can be made - one tongue of the animal has the same weight as an entire Indian elephant. The large head occupies 27% of the entire body, its lower jaw is much wider than the upper and clasps it on all sides. Inside the mouth there are several hundred pairs of whalebone, ranging from 90 cm to 1 m in length. There are small eyes above the very corners of the mouth. Closer to the back of the back there is a pointed small dorsal fin. In fact, the color of the blue whale is gray with a bluish tint, and the belly and fins are light, but when the animal moves in the sea, it appears to be blue - hence the name.

The animal's habitat occupies almost the entire World Ocean. Depending on the subspecies of the blue whale (and there are at least 3 of them: northern, southern and dwarf), its habitats stretch from Greenland to Antarctica.

The blue whale feeds on plankton, consisting mainly of krill - small marine crustaceans. The feeding process goes like this: it swims slowly, with its mouth open, and a mass of water with various crustaceans falls into it. The animal then closes its jaws and uses its tongue to push water through the whalebone, after which it licks and swallows the plankton that has settled on its fringe. The animal is capable of eating 3.5-6 tons of plankton per day.

The blue whale is a monogamous animal; having found its mate, it stays with it for a long time. Animals reach sexual maturity at about 10 years of age. Females give birth once every two years. Mating games begin in late autumn and last until early spring; the female’s pregnancy lasts about a year. A newborn baby weighs about 3 tons, its length is 7-8 m. The lactation period lasts about 7 months, and the milk of females is extremely rich in protein and very fatty (fat content varies from 37 to 50%). In one day, the cub receives up to 90 liters of mother's milk and gains an average of 44 kg in weight.

Although blue whales sometimes gather in groups of 2-3 individuals, they still tend to be solitary. Even in places where there is a large accumulation of food, where the number of whales can reach 50-60 animals, they stay in small, distant groups.

Usually, to feed, a blue whale dives to a depth of 100-200 m and swims at a speed of 5-15 km/h, but if it gets very scared, it can dive 500 m under water and reach a maximum speed of 50 km/h. A grazing whale spends 5 to 20 minutes underwater, but according to scientists, a blue whale may not surface for up to 50 minutes if necessary.

In a calm state, the blue whale breathes 1-4 times per minute and, when exhaling, releases a fountain into the air - a stream of water about 10 m high. The animal's vision and sense of smell are very poor, but its hearing and sense of touch are excellently developed.

Since blue whales are enormous in size, they have virtually no natural enemies. The only animals that pose a threat to them are killer whales, which attack in packs and tear apart the animal to eat it.

People did irreparable things to the blue whale population, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, when fishing for them was completely uncontrolled. But even after all the prohibitions, the most threatening thing for the existence of the whale remains man and his life activity. The danger is posed by floating nets, collisions with ships and pollution of the seas with oil products. In addition, recently the background noise of the sea has increased so much that the vocal signals used by whales to find each other for mating purposes are drowned out and become inaudible.

In myths different nations whales are certainly mentioned. And for good reason, because these mammals appeared on Earth long before humans, according to scientists, about 55 million years ago. They are the largest of all known animals that have ever existed.

There is an ancient legend according to which whales are the ancestors of humans. Most likely, it is based on the fact that many millions of years ago these animals were land animals, walking on the ground on four legs. According to one opinion of scientists, hippos and whales are relatives because they have common ancestors. In search of food, pakicents (land-dwelling ancestors of whales) first went to the ocean shore, and when there was no food left there, it was necessary to explore the depths.

Modern science allows us to conduct interesting research in the field of molecular genetics. Thus, evidence was obtained that cetaceans are related to artiodactyls, hippopotamuses in particular.

The mystery and majesty of blue whales has always attracted and will attract people to them. It is difficult to describe the feelings that arise from meeting this giant in the wild. Some say that, to some extent, they can be compared to a train that rushes past while you are standing on the station platform.

Appearance of a blue whale

The average length of a blue whale is 30 meters and its weight is close to 150 tons. Unlike many other animals, female blue whales are larger than males. The largest blue whale was discovered in 1926. The female weighed 170 tons and reached 33 meters in length.

The body of the blue whale is slender and elongated, flat on the sides. Although it is called blue, the color of the whale is heterogeneous: the head is darker, and the sides and back are lighter. Under the whale's jaw there are 60 throat folds. Whales have excellent hearing, but at the same time they do not have external ears. And they hear with the help of the lower jaw, which conducts sounds to the inner and middle ears.

Of the estimated original population of blue whales, which was 250,000 individuals, today only 1% remains, and the population continues to decline from year to year. It’s all because of people and whaling, which, despite all the prohibitions, does not stop.

The great blue whale is already large in size from birth: the length of a newborn animal is approximately seven meters, and its weight is about two to three tons, this is the smallest blue whale. But with every day of life, the whale calves grow rapidly, gaining 100 kg. The mother feeds them milk for the first 7 months of life. During this time, so much milk is released that its total volume is comparable to the weight of a female whale.

When describing the appearance of blue whales, special attention should be paid to their tails. Scientists say that each specimen has a unique shape, and it is by the tail that one can certainly distinguish one whale from another.

In order to more or less clearly imagine how huge the blue whale is, here are a few comparisons:

The size of the whale's head is such that 50 people can easily fit on it;

The heart of a blue whale weighs as much as an average one a car, about 700 kg;

The volume of blood that circulates throughout the whale's body is 8 tons;

These animals have the largest brains of all the creatures that inhabit the Earth.

On the back of the blue whale's head is a blowhole, which is the name of the hole through which the animal breathes. At the same time, when exhaling, the whale releases a high stream of water through its blowhole, the height of which reaches 10 meters. Whales can remain on the ocean floor without oxygen for two hours. One interesting and at the same time dangerous point for them is connected with the breathing characteristics of the animal: whales can suffocate and drown in their sleep. For this reason, they choose shallow water to rest, and if they fall into deep water during sleep, they strike with their strong tail and rise to the surface to inhale air.

It's hard to believe, but whales can sing! At first it was thought that this ability was unique to males, but later they discovered that females also sing when communicating with their newborn children. Moreover, experiments were conducted in which it turned out that in captivity, with long-term contact with people and certain training, whales learn to imitate human speech.

Lifestyle of blue whales

Menacing-looking giants are, in fact, extremely good-natured creatures. They can become prey for a school of much smaller killer whales, and they themselves feed only on small fish (krill), and they do this for future use: it is known that whales can starve for two thirds of the year.

Blue whales spend most of their time traveling across the vast expanses of the World Ocean. As a rule, they move alone, only occasionally you can see a school of two or three whales.

It is not known for certain, but most likely whales are diurnal. Due to their enormous size, whales are not particularly maneuverable or fast; in addition, they need air, so they try to stay on the surface of the water. Whales can dive, and they dive deeply (up to 1 km), but they usually do this when they are frightened or injured by something. In order to go under water, whales take a vertical position, while their tail, like a huge sail, rises to the surface for several seconds.

It is known that previously the habitat of these animals was very wide: they could be found in all the oceans of the world. Today, due to poaching, as well as pollution environment, the number of blue whales has declined greatly. Most often they can be found in the Chukchi and Bering seas, in the area of the Kuril ridge, the Aleutian and Commander Islands, in the Gulf of Anadyr and the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.

Blue whales reproduce extremely slowly, so much so that today the birth rate is several dozen times higher than the death rate. Females carry one calf for a year, and whales can conceive the next one only after another year, no less. But the life expectancy of blue whales is high - more than a century.

Here he is, a majestic blue whale, whose size impressed people so much that for a long time they were sure that the whole world stood on three whales. There is a legend: when a whale swallows a person, he can live peacefully in its huge stomach. But this is all just fiction, and whales are not at all dangerous to humans, since the small size of the esophagus will not allow a person to be swallowed. And this is just further proof good nature blue whale

In the world it is blue. This gigantic creature is almost 33 meters long! Figuratively speaking, 30 African or Indian elephants could fit on it! If we talk about where a whale of such unusual size lives, then these are the open seas and oceans around the world. However, this habitat is not only for blue whales, but for all living whales in general.

Lords of the Sea

So, we have learned that seas and oceans are the places where the whale lives. But with all this, remember that whales are not fish! They breathe through lungs, like all mammals, and not through gills, like fish. That is why they urgently need to rise to the surface of the water from time to time to take a breath. This procedure is accompanied by an extraordinary fountain above sea level. But have whales always lived in water? Of course not! It is interesting that several million years ago the ancestors of today’s cetaceans lived on land, and unlike their descendants, they first moved to shallow water, hiding there from their enemies and at the same time hunting small animals, and after some time they completely went to sea. At the same time, the hair completely disappeared from their body, and their front legs turned into fins. The tail took on the shape necessary for comfortable swimming - not vertical, like that of fish, but horizontal.

So, we found out where the whale lives. Let's "float" on!

From the life of whales

Depending on their zoology, they can feed on fish, squid, small crustaceans and plankton. The stomach of these animals holds two to three tons of food. They swallow their prey whole, without even trying to chew it. Whales swim very fast. Given their size, they manage to reach speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour. In addition, these animals are excellent divers. The sperm whale, for example, can dive to depths of up to three thousand meters! And all this is thanks to a thick layer of fat, which allows them to dive to such depths, as well as the air retained in the whale’s overgrown nostril, like in a bag. This gives him the opportunity not to float to the surface for two whole hours. If we talk about how long a whale lives, then this figure reaches 50 years. Whales are viviparous animals. They give birth to live babies, feeding them with milk, which, by the way, is 10 times more nutritious than cow's milk! Thanks to this, little whales grow very quickly. It is worth noting that these animals have excellent vision, touch, hearing and more... It has been proven that they navigate with the help of other senses - analyzers. Whales are able to detect ultrasound and infrasound; they communicate with each other using various sounds. Among other things, whales are very smart animals that are easy to train!

Where does the whale live - in the tropics or in the ice?

The phenomenon of “suicide”

This is a common occurrence in the life of whales. Washing ashore, the animal dies. According to one version, this happens because people are very strong. Another version says that it is all due to their own ultrasounds, which sometimes fail the whales. Swimming underwater, the animal sends an ultrasonic signal ahead of itself, and in the event of an obstacle, it is reflected from it and comes back to the whale (like bats), which, knowing full well that there is an obstacle ahead, turns off. But if the shore is quite flat, then the ultrasonic signal will not be reflected from it, which misinforms the whale: it thinks that there is water ahead and is thrown onto land at high speed! Take care of the whales - save them!

baleen whales

Blue whale. The largest animal on the planet. It can reach a length of 33 m and a weight of 150 tons. Cubs are born with a length of 6 to 8.8 m and a weight of 2-3 tons. Blue whales are found in almost all areas of the World Ocean, with the exception of the tropical zone. In the Northern Hemisphere, they winter at the latitudes of Southern Japan, California, North Africa, and the Caribbean Sea. In the Southern Hemisphere, animals spend the winter at the latitudes of Australia, Peru, South Africa, and Madagascar. In summer, blue whales prefer the cool waters of the Antarctic, North Atlantic, Bering and Chukchi seas. Fishing has been prohibited since 1965.

Fin whale. The second largest whale found in the World Ocean. The maximum length reaches 29 m. The weight of adult animals is usually about 50 tons. A characteristic external species feature of the fin whale is the asymmetry of the color of the side of the head: the lower right jaw is a quarter white, like the belly, and on the left side it is all dark, like the head.

Fin whales live almost everywhere, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, excluding the equator zone. Even in winter they do not descend south of 30°N. and do not rise north of 20-25 o S. There are more fin whales in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. IN Russian waters Minke whales of this species are found most often in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, less often in the Okhotsk and Japanese Seas, and very rarely in the Barents and White Seas. In addition, there have been several cases of fin whales entering the Kara and. Fishing is prohibited.

Sei whale (sai whale). The third largest whale in the world's oceans. the average length in the Northern Hemisphere is 13-14 m, in the Southern Hemisphere - 14.6-15.5 m, and the maximum - 18 and 19 m, respectively. Females begin to give birth to 4-5 meter cubs from the age of 10 years.

This species of minke whale also lives everywhere, but unlike blue whales and fin whales, it prefers warmer temperate latitudes and does not penetrate far into the cold waters of the Northern Hemisphere. In the Pacific Ocean, it is distributed from the island of Taiwan and the coastal waters of Southern Japan to the northern Bering Sea. In the Atlantic, sei whales live from the Canary Islands and the coast of Florida to the northern shores of Norway, Spitsbergen, Iceland, Labrador and Newfoundland, and sometimes enter the Mediterranean Sea. In the Southern Hemisphere, unlike the Northern Hemisphere, sei whales reach the edge of the ice that encircles the ice continent. Fishing is limited.

Small minke whale (minke whale). The smallest representative of the minke whale family, 7-10 m long and weighing 7-9 tons . Often has a white transverse stripe on the pectoral fins. Widely distributed in temperate and cold waters of the World Ocean. In the Southern Hemisphere it is found everywhere in these zones, and in the Northern Hemisphere it prefers the Pacific Ocean: the Chukchi Sea, right up to the ice zone; East China, Yellow, Japan, Okhotsk and Bering Seas, waters of Japan, Kuril and Aleutian Islands, coast of the USA and Canada. In the North Atlantic, Minke whales are found from the coast of Florida to Labrador, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, as well as up to 70°N. on the east coast of Greenland, off the island of Spitsbergen, in the Norwegian, North, Barents, White and Kara seas. Fishing is limited.

Humpback whale (humpback). The most exotic of the minke whale family. With a body length of up to 18 m, it is distinguished by huge 4-5-meter tuberous pectoral fins, a hump-shaped dorsal fin and a head covered with three to five rows of large warts.

Distributed throughout the World Ocean from the Arctic to the Antarctic, migrates in the coastal zone in the North Pacific Ocean from the Chukchi Sea to the coasts of California and Mexico, from Alaska and Kamchatka to Taiwan. In the North Atlantic, humpback whales are found from Spitsbergen, Novaya Zemlya to North-West Africa and the Cape Verde Islands, as well as from Greenland and Iceland to the Antilles. In the Southern Hemisphere, these whales migrate from the coast of Antarctica north to Chile and Peru, Angola, Congo, Madagascar and New Zealand. Fishing for humpback whales has been prohibited since 1963.

Bowhead whale. The fattest representative of the cetacean order. Reaches a length of 15-18 m (sometimes up to 21 m), a mass of 150 tons. The head makes up 1/3 of the body length. The dorsal fin is missing. Adheres to surface layers of water. When floating up, it “exhales” up to 12 forked fountains within 1-3 minutes, and then dives again for 5-10 minutes. Females give birth to one cub every 3-6 years. It lives in Arctic waters in three local herds: off the island of Spitsbergen in the Barents Sea, off the western coast of Greenland, in the north Pacific Ocean in the Bering, Chukchi, Okhotsk seas and in the Beaufort Sea. From one whale they get up to 25-30 tons of fat.

Southern (smooth) whale. Habitats vary depending on the season of the year. In winter, right whales concentrate in the North Asian part of the Pacific Ocean at 20-40 0 N latitude, as well as in the southern part of the Japanese Sea, in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and in the waters of Taiwan. In the spring (from March to May) the migration of animals to the north begins, and they spend the summer in the Sea of Okhotsk, in the region of the Kuril Ridge, off the coast of Kamchatka and the Commander Islands. With the onset of autumn, animals migrate south for the winter.

Gray whale. The most ancient of the baleen whales. It has not lost contact with the shore, since it breeds only in the shallow bays of California and Korea. With a maximum length of 15 m, the mass of animals reaches 20-35 tons. Growth continues up to 40 years. After 8 years, females give birth to cubs about 4 m long and weighing up to 600 kg or more. Lives exclusively in the waters of the northern half of the Pacific Ocean. In Russian waters it is found along the coast of the Sea of Japan, in the La Perouse and Tatar Straits, in the Kuril Islands, Okhotsk, and sometimes in the East Siberian Sea along the edge of pack ice.

In addition, gray whales are frequent visitors to the coastal waters of Korea, the Korea Strait and the Japanese Islands. Extraction is permitted only for the local population of Chukotka in single quantities.

TOOTHED WHALES Sperm whale. The largest representative of toothed whales. With a body weight of 50 tons, males can reach a length of 20, and females - 15 m. The average length of males in waters Far East

is 15, females - 13 m. Characteristic external features: huge, laterally flattened head (1/3-1/4 body length); depression at the bottom of the head; lack of teeth in the upper jaw and long lower jaws; several small hump-fins behind the main dorsal fin. The weight of one sperm whale lower jaw tooth reaches 1.6 kg. Female sperm whales mature at 15-17 years, males at 23-25 years. The length of newborn calves is 4-4.5 m. Sperm whales are distributed throughout the world's oceans. At the same time, females breed in the tropics and rarely go beyond the subtropical zone, and males can migrate in the summer to the north up to the Davis Strait, the Barents and Bering Seas and south to Antarctica. In Russian waters, sperm whales are most often found in the area of the Kuril Ridge, in the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk and near the Commander Islands. It is very easy to distinguish this species of whale from its relatives by its elongated cylindrical beak and characteristic high spherical “forehead,” sometimes with white markings. It reaches a length of 11-12 m, weighs 8-10 tons. It lives in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, from Cape Navarin, Alaska and British Columbia to the latitudes of Southern Japan and California. In Russian waters it is more often found in the Sea of Okhotsk and near the Kuril Islands, less often in the Sea of Japan and the Bering Sea. The fat of the floater is not edible, so it is obtained either by accident or for economic purposes, mainly in Japan.

High brow bottlenose. Unlike the swimmer, the bottlenose's beak is sharp and short, and the "forehead" hangs over its base. With a length of 9-10 m, the weight of the animals does not exceed 8 tons. For their habitat, bottlenose fish chose the waters of the North Atlantic from the Davis Strait, Greenland and Barents Seas to the latitudes of North-West Africa and the middle part of the USA. Sometimes they enter the Mediterranean, Baltic and White Seas. They winter in the warm waters of the Atlantic. The bottlenose fishery is carried out in the waters of Norway, the northwestern part of the Barents Sea and Iceland.

Bottlenose dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins are common in coastal temperate and warm waters of the World Ocean. Three of the four species of bottlenose dolphins are found in Russian waters: the Black Sea, the Atlantic (in the Baltic) and the North Pacific. The dimensions of these animals do not exceed 3.3-3.6 m, and their weight is 300-400 kg. In spring and summer they give birth to cubs just over 1 m in length and weighing 11-12 kg. Bottlenose dolphins are used mainly in aquariums and zoos.

Common dolphin (real, Black Sea, common dolphin). The length of common dolphins is 1.6-2.6 m (in the Black Sea - no more than 2.1 m). Distinctive features of these animals are a slender body and a long beak, separated from the fat pad by characteristic grooves. The weight of male Black Sea dolphins varies from 24 to 58, and females - from 36 to 61 kg. The habitat of these animals in the World Ocean, like that of bottlenose dolphins, is very wide. Three species of dolphins live in Russian waters: Atlantic (Baltic), Black Sea (the smallest) and Far Eastern (Sea of Japan). Dolphin fishing in the Black Sea has been prohibited since 1967.

Grinds. Three species of pilot whales live in the World Ocean: common, tropical and black, or North Pacific. The black pilot whale is the largest, its length reaches 5.5-6.5 m. Characteristic external signs of pilot whales: a spherical head, almost devoid of a beak, a dorsal fin sharply bent back and shifted towards the head.

Toothed whales of this species are distributed in the North Atlantic and in temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean to the latitudes of the Kuril, Commander and Aleutian Islands. Pilot whales are regularly caught off the coasts of Japan, the Faroe Islands, Newfoundland and Norway, as well as in open waters North and Barents seas.

Orcas. By its characteristic huge white spots, the killer whale can be easily distinguished from any other whale. With a body length of 8.7-10 m, the weight of the animal reaches 8 tons, and the speed of movement is 55 km/h, which significantly complicates its fishing. Killer whales prefer cold and temperate waters of the World Ocean. They were even encountered in the Arctic seas - the Kara and East Siberian (Chaun Bay). But for some reason the animals avoid the Laptev and Black Seas.

Porpoises. Females are slightly larger than males - body length is 1.8 and 1.7 m, respectively. The maximum weight reaches 90 kg, the average is 50 kg, and among the inhabitants of the Black Sea it does not exceed 30 kg. The weight of the cubs is usually no more than 3 kg. These animals chose bays, bays, fiords, estuaries and lower reaches of rivers of the Northern Hemisphere as their habitats. Three species of porpoises are found in Russian waters: Black Sea (the smallest), North Atlantic (Baltic, White, Barents Sea) and North Pacific (the seas of the Far East).

Beluga whales. A characteristic feature of these whales except white- absence of beak and dorsal fin. The length of males reaches 6 m, weight 2 tons, and females - 5 m and 1.5 tons, respectively. Sucker cubs are slate-blue in color, and young beluga whales are gray or blue.

Distributed in all seas of the Arctic and adjacent basins, the Bering and Okhotsk seas. In very severe winters they can descend south to the latitudes of Japan and Great Britain and enter the Baltic Sea. Three species of belugas live in Russian waters: the White Sea, Kara and Far Eastern. Their production in our waters is limited.

Narwhal (unicorn). The shape, weight and length of the body are the same as that of a beluga whale, but the narwhal's back is dark blue with an overall light background to the body, and the tail on top resembles an anchor with two wide paws. Males are distinguished by a powerful tusk with a spiral thread, protruding 2-3 m from the left side of the muzzle.

It prefers high latitudes for habitat - the Arctic Ocean and Arctic seas, especially the Greenland region and the northern part of the Canadian archipelago. Narwhals were encountered from 85°N. in the north to Great Britain and the Netherlands, the Murmansk coast, the mouth of the Pechora, the White Sea, Bering Island, Port Moller (Alaska) in the south. The species is very small in number and can be classified as a rare animal. Nevertheless, residents of the Greenland coast catch several hundred narwhals every year.

Studying for a long time The largest mammal, scientists have concluded that whales switched to an aquatic lifestyle about 50 million years ago, and their closest relatives on land are hippos.

The impressive size of this animal amazed people in ancient times, which is why the Greeks began to call them κῆτος - “sea monster”. So the name was assigned to these gigantic but cute inhabitants.

Let's try to understand the diversity of species of the cetacean order and find out what the largest whale in the world is.

Minke whale

Growing up to 10.7 meters in length, the member of the minke family is the smallest of the huge family. Three species of this mammal inhabited waters from northern latitudes to Antarctica.

A distinctive feature is the stripes behind the head. The body itself is dark gray in color, but the belly and fins are white.

The minke whale does not like groups and mostly makes solitary swims. But in places where food accumulates you can find huge herds of this amazing whale.

In the North Atlantic Ocean you can meet a majestic whale, the size of which reaches from 12 to 16 meters in length.

Due to thoughtless fishing, the habitat of this species has been significantly reduced. Hunting for the northern right whale is prohibited, but the process of natural recovery of the population is very slow.

The whale received its specific name due to the shape of its dorsal fin. From a distance it resembles a hump, and also has a habit of gracefully arching its back when moving.

The average length of humpback whales is approximately 14-15 meters, but some individuals grow up to 19.5 meters. Often above the water, in addition to the back of a humpback whale, you can see large pectoral fins.

This mammal is not tied to a specific territory, and you can meet humpback whales anywhere in the world’s oceans. There is evidence that the humpback whale occasionally entered the Baltic Sea.

One of the three species of right whales chose the subtropical latitudes of the Southern Ocean as its habitat. Near one of the islands near Argentina, scientists have equipped an entire center to monitor these beauties.

The inhabitants of the southern seas grow up to 18 meters, and at this size they weigh over 80 tons. They often swim up to ships and small boats, jumping out of the water, showing all their power and beauty.

Since 1937, the whale has been under protection, and unlike other species, it has begun to systematically recover, although scientists still cannot determine what factors influence the birth rate of cetaceans.

Japanese whale

A whale, similar in appearance to its North Atlantic relative, can be found in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean. There is evidence of its presence off the coast of Mexico, but for some reason females only sail to the Japanese islands to give birth.

Some individuals grow up to 19 meters. The huge mammal is in danger of extinction.

Experts have calculated that today there are no more than 400 Japanese whales in the world that live in the Sea of Okhotsk, and about 100 individuals live in the eastern part of the ocean.

The largest of the suborder of toothed whales, the sperm whale likes to stay in large groups. This makes it easier for them to travel long distances and feed.

Male sperm whales grow up to 20 meters, but females are much smaller. The sperm whale is distinguished from other whales by its large head, so it is difficult to confuse it with other cetaceans

The sperm whale lives throughout the vast expanse of the world's oceans, except for its northernmost and southern outskirts. Perhaps the only one from a large family of cetaceans that is very aggressive, and if wounded, can sink a ship.

The sei whale is also called the willow whale, and some representatives reach 20 meters in length. Interestingly, females are larger than males. The habitat of sei whales is the entire world ocean, where the water is above 8 degrees Celsius.

In addition to their large size, these mammals also reach speeds of up to 25 kilometers per hour and dive to a depth of almost 300 meters.

In Russia, this marine animal is widespread near the Kuril Islands and is less common in the Barents Sea.

Due to a sharp decline in the population, hunting for sei whales was completely prohibited in the mid-80s of the last century.

The cold waters of northern latitudes have been chosen as a place to live by the Greenland whale, a sea giant that grows up to 22 meters and weighs 150 tons.

The only species that spends its entire life in the northern seas and feeds only on plankton, passing a huge amount of water through its gills. The population of the inhabitant of the north currently numbers about 10 thousand individuals.

In ancient times, the tribes inhabiting the islands northern seas They actively hunted the giant, made houses from bones, and used meat and fat for food.

Fin whales, which belong to the widespread family of minke whales, live in both hemispheres, but rarely approach the coastline.

They grow up to 27 meters, and among their relatives they are distinguished by their agility, and despite their enormous size and weight, they can move quickly and dive deeper than all whales.

Despite their relatively large population, fin whales are considered an endangered species, which is why hunting for them is strictly limited.

Blue whale

This beauty, growing up to 33 meters and weighing 150 tons, is the largest whale.

The blue whale is a solitary whale and loves to travel across the ocean in splendid isolation, while covering long distances. On the blue body there is a triangular fin located on the back, and the pectoral fins are quite wide and powerful.

Many museums around the world can boast that their exhibitions display amazing and huge blue whale skeletons. And you can see its impressive size in the photo.

Conclusion

So we found out how much a whale weighs, but the photos will not convey all the beauty of these sea giants. Being large in size, whales are the most harmless creatures on earth, feeding on plankton and small fish. Meeting them among the ocean expanses evokes a lot of positive emotions and indescribable joy.

The whale, the largest animal, for some reason has a very low birth rate, which is why almost all species are close to extinction. Many countries have banned hunting of this unique animal, and those who continue hunting have sharply reduced its scale.