U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Government Publication Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services
• ., A~ r File WEXFORD - WHALE
Fi,lii11g, i1<111 l,n111di11,l( , f;i11 1ii11 g, wool,·n n1ill • WHALE, any of a gro11p of' t· .,c:lusiv<'I~- aq11al1c ing, haco11 ;11H I l1a111 <·111 i11g, a11d brcwing are !ht· Jllammals that i11cl11dt·s the largest an in1 als that chief i11d11 s trit·,. Mari>!<' , slate, and granite arc ever lived. Whales (o rd e r Cetacea) a re fo1111d i11 q11arrit·d. The brm rl'gicllls produce poultry, cat• a ll oceans and contiguous seas, and in certa in riv• tl e, wheat, barley, potatoes, and dairy products. e rs and lakes of sou theastern Asia, tropical South Wexford was the first countv in l1Tland to he America, northe rn North Ame rica, and northern occupie d h y the English. An.Cil' nt castles and Eurasia. church ruins are near the town of Enniscorthy This article deals mainly with larger Illt'111- and Ferns. Population: (1981) 99.016. be rs of th e whale order. For further information on some small er whales, see BELUGA; D OLPHIN ; WEXFORD, wc·ks' brd, a town i11 s <>11tlw:1s t<'rn Ire• J.:11.1.i-:11 \'°l 'II AI.E ; NAH \\'IIAI.; and PoHPOI SE . la nd, th<-' scat o f county Wexford. It is si tua ted at \\'halt's are t~•pi<'ally c haracterized by torpeclo• tlH' mouth of the river Slauey, 70 miles ( I JO km) s l1 ap!'d bodies with forelimbs shaped as flip• so11th o f' D11 Iii in. I 11d11 st rit·s incl 11d e brewing. pt·r, and 110 external hind limbs. Most w hales nwat c 11ri11 g, and the 111an111':i,·f1111· of textiles. ag- han· a cl 11r~al fi11 . a11d the tail is horizontal in con• 1i, ·11ll111 :il i11qil,·11w111\ , "'" ' l11111il11w T11111i , 111 i, trn , t to tl,c • ,·,·,ti,·.,} tai l nf 1110 s! fislH's . A layc· r of i11q 1" 1l :111t to tl1<· 1·1·011t1111, ·. Tit< · ft1w11 takl', ifs 1,1,d,I,,., 111 11 f,., J,,., ti><' :1!1110,t l1 :ti1 It'" ~k ,11 . 11:111 11· f,orn the \Jt l1 c·,·1 lf11r·y i)a11i sli sl'ltle1ne11 t o l wl1il'l1 I,," '"' ,<' l1;1<'t'rn1s o r sweat glands. Tlie W:tt•sl.io1d. \V,·xford v.a, ilil' l1< ·:icl q11art< ·r, of'tll<' ,·v,·s :irt· ,n1all i11 c·on ,parison to body size, and n ·h,·llirn, of 17!J8. l'op1d:itit111 : (IDHI ) 11 ,J!J!i. tllt'n · ar<' 1111 t•xlt- rn a l l'ars. Adult wlial,·s an· ·l t11 IOtl 1, ·,·I ( 1.2 :lo 1111 ·1<- 1,) l1111g and W<' iglt fro111 '1S WEYDEN, Rogier van der. S,T VAN 1>1 -. 11 \\1 1-: Y1>1 :N, Jll1111 1d , lo 220 frn" (20 - 200,000 kg ). l\oc:11-: 11 . Whales swim by 111ea11s of up and down movements of the tail. The flippe rs f11n cti on as WEYL, vii, Hermann (1885- l\:J55), German mathe• balancing and steering o rgans. The large balee n matician and mathematical physicist. Wey! was whales can attain a maximum speed of 16 mph born in Elmsborn, Germany, on Nov. 9, 1885, (26 km/h ), and some dolphins have been clocked and graduate d in 1908 from the Universit y of at speeds of up fo 20.5 mph (33 km/h). Cotli ngen, where he was David Hilbert's most The two groups o f living w hales are the ba• gifted st 11dcnt. 11 is early work was deeply i nfl11- leen whales (Mys ti ceti), characterized by a filter• enced by I lilbert's analytic approach, although feed ing mPchanism known as bale en, and the he la ter diverged fro111 his tt>a ch e r. In 19 13 he toothe d whales (Odontoceli), known for thei r was appoi1d1·d a prof,,, sor at tlH· llniv!'rsit y of complex t• c holncation svstcms. A third group, Ziirich, whnc he workt·d wi t!, All>nt Einstein. tlie Arc h:t<'Ot'l'li or Zt't1g~·odo11 ts, hel'a 111e extinct Fascinatt·d with E inslt' i11 's tlH ·orv of relativi• about 25 million years ago. These primitive ty, Wey! d t·v<'lop,·d a 1111ifi<·d fi <•lil tl l('orv, in loothl'd whales art· neith<'r filter feed e rs nor whit'h 1· l< ·cfro111 ag1 1dit' and g ,a,·itafional (i<: lds cC'l1plocators. All tltn·t· groups of whales prob• co11 ld he treat<"d as geo111etrical properties of ably ltad a common urigi 11 fro1n te rre st rial mam• space-time. I II the HJ20's he s howed how quan• mals. Studies s uggest that the most like ly ances• tum-m<·c hanical phenomena co11l d he most easi• tors of whales wpre deri,·ed from te rrestrial me• ly expressed in terms of group theory. Ilis appli• son ychids. The 111 e so11 yc- hids were a group of cati on of fnnction theory to geo1I1e try and his large-bod ied mammals (condyla rths) that lived work in a11aly tit' theory of 11111111,ers a11rl topology d11r i11g the Palem·c1H' and Eocene e poc hs more dist ingu ishe
GE N ERA L CHARACTERISTICS Anatomy and Physiologr. Wh:rlt's have several <.:lrar:rdt·rist ic anatomica feat ures. Their lungs ancl livC'rs an· not lohed. hut the kidney is cli,·id- "Z [ 0 ROBINSON/TOM STACI( I. ASSOCIATES 1·cl i11to 111:111,· loht's- ca ·Ir :rcting as an inclivid11al A humpback whole leaps out of the water. This and many fil1t-1i11 g 1111(1. \'\1!1 :tl,·, 11:r vc tlrrC'e or n1 cirl' clra,1 1- other characteristic behaviors ore not well understood. bcrs in the stonr:rclr, ancl there is no gallhladder. The di:rphrag111 crosses tir e bod~, on an oblique a11gJ,,. JI iglrlv developed rc tia mirahilia are leas t partly recovere d by inflowing venous blood rres,·rrl i11 hotl1 th<' lowl'r part of thC' lwacl and ins lead of being lost to the cqld seawater. (4) A tlrC' thorax. Tire,,· retial 111asst· s lwlp nwclerate relative ly high n1 e taholic rate-enables whales to pn•sst11·,· c lran gc ·s tlral otT11r cl11ring diving. gl'rrerate more heat per 11nit of body w e ight than Tlrc·y nra1• 11r,·v,·nl "''1•rs ln·ssi11g Sl'nsi livl' r,•• clo land rn:unr11als. (.'5) Finally, the relatively low g iorr s s11d1 a, till' lirairr ;11 1d spinal eord. respiration rat<·s ofwlrales result in low hl'at loss Sp,.r111 wl1a l<' s arrd sonH · l)(':rk,·cl whalC' s ca11 lo tlr, .- al111osplrl'r<' . dive· lo cl,.pllrs of' 111or, · llrarr :l,280 f,.t'I ( 1,000 fl1ost ~ci<·11 lisls IH'li,·vt· that the wlralt-'s spout 111t'lers), wltl'r<' llrt·y ar,· s ril >jl'l't to prl'ssrrn·s in is vapor caus!'d by conclcrrsatiorr of air escaping excess of JOO atmosphen°s. These dives can last lli e lungs. llowever, further research has s hown over an lro11r. Three i111portant factors make il that the gray whale's spout consists mainly of possible for whales to go without breathing for seawater blown up during expiration, at least o n s 11 ch a long period. The first is tllf' high oxygen• the breeding g rounds. s lori rrg capacity of IIH'ir 11111 sd1·s arrcl hlood. Tin· Th<' brain W<'ight of whales rangl's from 20 proportion of oxygen-s toring myoglobirr in a pounds (9.2 kg) in tire sperm whale to only 4.5 whale's muscles is about two to nine times that pounds (0.2 kg) in the smaller river dolphins found in terrestrial mammals. The high oxygen• (Pontoporia blainvillei). T~ large whales and s torage capacity of whale blood is due to the fact the e lephants are the only animals with brains that the proportion of rc
BLUE WHALE Whales include the largest animals alive A balee n whale. Th e streamlined blue today and the largest animals that ever lived. whale is the largest o;~II animals. Even Brachiosa urus, the largest of the dino• saurs, weig hed less than half as much as a female blue whale. Whales fall into two main groups: the baleen , or whalebone , whales and the toothed whales. Th e baleen wh ales have a distinctive sieve• like structure for strai ning smal l food animals from the water. The group includes the largest whale (the blue whale) and one of the smallest (the minke whale). Other baleen whales shown here are the humpback, right (or bowhead), and gray whales. The toothed whales are more closely related to the dolphins and porpoises than to the baleen whales. They prey on squid, fish , and other large marine animals. The largest of this group is the sperm whale, which is by far the most numerous of the large whales. The only other toothed whales are the beaked whales, MINKE WHALE including Baird's beaked whale and the north• A baleen whale . It is both the smallest and ern bottlenose whale . the most widespread of the rorquals.
HUMPBACK WHALE Adult female and young. A baleen whale, th'e humpback is noted for its leaps from the water and for the songs of adult males (a vailable on comm ercial recordings). . ..-- PAINTING SBY LARRY FOS TER •I
RIGHT (BOWHEAD) WHALE A temporary mating group consist ing of a female (back• ground) and two males. A baleen wh ale with a high yield of oil , the right .whale was the first to be hunted commercially.
GRAY WHALE A medium-size baleen whale. Now ex • tinct in the North Atlantic and rare in the western Pacific, it is numerous in th e ea stern Pacific off California.
-.
')""\ rl U)
-i 0 SPERM WHALE > A toothed wh ale made famous by Herman Melvill e's Moby-Oick. It is the mo st numerous of all large whales .
H a) BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE ·rl A toothed whale. Little is known about the -l 0 beaked whales. Only two kinds, Baird's H bea ked whale and the northern bottlenose, :...? have been hunted commercially. I WHALE
NUMBERS OF WHALES I Before ,,. commercial Species whaling · .. ~..,,_.. ·. .,. , 1985 Percent
BLUE 11,000 . 5 V 22 40 .. . .:' ~ ·: ;. .~ ~ ,.• 40
·70 D RIGHT 4
) BOWHEAD 4 s I GRAY 100 ~ ..... SPERM 1,500,000 ~ ·., ··- 1,250,000 83 -i • . ~ ..,:., SJ,
to the female , and the ens11in g fights may be vio• pu~ses with upper ranges of 20 to 30 kHz (k il o• lent-at times rcs11lting in bloorly wounds. he 1fz) . The origin of these sound\ is suspected to Right whales form sim ilar temporary groups be ihe larynx, although the whales have no vocal consisting of a female in heat and several com• cortls. peting males. Fe111ales are larger than males in !Sounds produced by toothed whal es include all baleen whales. This is tho11ght to be related two main types: clicks and whistles. Clicks may to the biological rcCJ11irem ents of reprorluctio.n be brnitted singly, in individual bursts, or in long rather than to social stri)('lt1rt·. tratns. These sounds us11a ll y span a very broad ~perm whalt·s are polygy11011 s. The basic so• ba1\k of pitches (O.l to 120 kllz). Long trains of cial unit appears to be a mixed school of20 to 40 clicks may be heard as a single sound and have animals, consisting of adult females and their be(;!n given a variety of names such as barks, calves. During the breerling season each of chirps, and squawks. Clicks are used for echolo• these gro11ps is joi11cd liy a few adult males. The ca tion of prey. Whistles are pure-tone, frequen• yonng of both sexes forrn s1·parate juvenile cy-.modulatcd si11:nals with a jJitch from 4 to 20 kl lz schools after they arc weaned. Young females ano last about half a secon( . rejoin the mixed schools before maturity, but 1Cli c ks appear to be emitted from the right nasal males remain in bachelor gro11r s for many years pl 1ig and its associated diverti cula~and whistles are until th ey r<'a ch breeding age. Like most highly associated with movements oft he last nasal plug. A pol~·gyrn111s l<'rr('strial 111a111111al s, rnal1·s far ex• fe,y investigators bt·lievc that both scrnncls are pro• ceed li: lllaies i11 size. d11ced l,y the larynx . Beaked whales mostly form smaller schools of iLife Cycle and Reproduction. Mos t baleen three lo s ix individuals. and there is relatively whales migrate twice a year between ri ch feed• little diffe re nce in size hdwccn the s!'xes. Lit• inl{ areas in the Antarc ti c and Arctic regions and tle more is known abo11t the social structure of te1pperate or subtropical breeding and calving th ese whales. grdunds. The entire reproductive cycle is corre• Mass ~tra11dings 11 s 11 a ll y i11volvc gregario11s latt·d with these migrations. In sperm whales, off,horc species such as sperm whales, pilot only the adult males n1igrate to colde r waters in whales, and S!'vcral speci1's of d<:lphins. Many thtl nonhree rling season; the females and juve• of these strandings may be si 111pl y the result of niles re ntain in warmer waters all year. navigational e rrors. Because of the social ti es ;All whales mate in the wale r. Mating usually a111ong ntcmh1·rs of a gro11 \>, inclivid11al animals occurs with the pair swimm in g on their ,sides put hack in the water usual y rct11rn to the beach be jly to belly. The male's testes are retained to rejoin their companions. Tre matode infesta• permanentl y inside the abdominal cavity. In the tions in the ears of some whales also have been adµ lt !$ray whale the testes weigh over 84 pounds suggested as a factor in sollle strandings. Whales (38 kg) and the penis is about 43 inches (110 cm) or dolphins that strand sin gly arc alntost always long. sick. ! The gestation periods of whales range from Communication. Balee n whales produce four about 10 to 13.5 months in baleen whales and types of sounds: (1) the typical low-frequency fro'm 10 to 17 months in toothed whales. The moans, including the "songs" of humpback larger toothed whales have the longest gestation whales, which have a pitch usually between 20 periods. Only a single young is born, and it is and 200 I lz (Herz, cycles per second) and last usually one fourth to one third the length of the between 0.4 and 36 seconds; (2) gruntlike mqther. The teats of the· mammary glands are thumps and knocks of short duration, mainly be• found within paired slits on either side of the tween 40 and 200 Hz and lasting from 50 to 500 female reproductive opening. Contact with the milliseconds; (3) chirps, cries, and whistles with teats during suckling causes the milk to spurt frequencies above 1000 llz; and (4) clicks or freely into the mouth of the calf. The milk of 680 ·-·~,
WHALE
l,:tl< ·,·11 wl,aks i, 111111•;i1all,· liigl, i11 fat <·onl<"nl - lcngtl, of approxin1al e ly 53 feet ( 16 meters), aftn 30'½·,- !'i:1 %. I I a l~,c , <· 011lai 11, I 0%- 14 % j>rotc i n, a we ight gain of up to 200 pounds (90 kg) per and 0111,1 aho11l 2% sugar (lac:tose). The 1igh fat day. co11le11l probal,l y at'l'< H111l s for th e rapid growth of Blue whales have been prote cted worldwide llw calf during the s11ckli11g pe riod . During this hy th e J\VC since 1966. Howeve r, it is uncertain 1wriod lhl' calf may i11 cn·ast· its body W<"igl,t five whethe r hl11 e whale populations wi ll ever recov• lo ciglil ti111 es. Spc n11-whal c 111ilk co11lai11 s onl y e r from their low levels, if they survive at all. 17% lo 3'1 % /:it, 8% lo 12% proll'i11 , a11d a very Th<' c111-rc nt estimate of 5,000 whales in the small a11101 111 t of .~11 gar. Southe rn I l c> misphe re is onl y 2.5% of the esti- The s 111 allcr tooth ed wlial<' s (dolplii11s and 11,alt·cl 200.000 present in th e en rl y IUOO 's. porpoises) are weaned in four or fiv e months, but Other Rorquals, Including Humpbacks. The ap• the young of larger species continue to suckle for proximate maximum lengths of the small er ror• two years nr longer. Whales b('comc sexuall y qu:i ls are 88 fe e t (26.8 mete rs) for the fin whale rnat11rc at two or thn·,· y<'ars in some of the small • (13. physalus), 69 feet (2 1 meters) for the sei <·s t dolpl 1i11s and porpoises b11t 11 0! until 10 years whale (B. /)()r-eo lis) , '1 6 feet (1'1 meters) for or 11 11,n · i11 Ill<' larg,·r lootl1< ·cl w hal e, a11d l1al<'1 ·11 Brydt:'s whalt' (B. ('(/,:,.i). 3.'5 fl'ct (1 0.7 111el<-rs) for wha le,. Th<' 111a xi11 111111 lilt• spa 11 is csti,natcd al the minke whale (II . onllvrvstrnlo ), n11cl 53 feet 11p to '10 yt· ars for h:il,·t· n wlial <•s and up lo 70 ( lfi met e rs) for the humpback whale (Megop te ra y,·ars for l< H> ll ll'd w l1 :d,·s. II /J V!l(' flll g/ ill<'). The othe r major distinctive features of the BALEEN WHALES rorquals are a white right lower lip and a white This g rn11/) of whales (suborder Mysticeti) is edge on the upper jaw in fin whales; a single ros• di sti11g11i sli, ·, I,~· 11 1<' prt·s<·11,·1· of halt•f'n a nd h y tral rid ge e xt,·ncling forward from the base of the l'~il'111al paill·tl l,lowl,olt-s. llal,·, ·11 wl,alt's i'l:l'd l,lowl,ol<· in sci w l,al es; tlirt:t: prorninenl ridges mainly l,y straining krill and oth er crustaceans on th e rost rum in Bryde's whale; and a triangu• from I he water as they swim along the surface lar-shaped ros trum with a single prominent ridge with the ir mouths open. They are found in al l in the m inke whale. oceans a nd conti guous s~as except the Black Sea. Fin and sei whales are widely distributed in T here are three living fam ili es: The Balaenop• te mpe rate and polar waters of-both hemispheres. te riclae includes the rorq 11 als-the blue whale, Bryde's whales a re found in tropical and temper• th e fin whale, th e sei whale, Bryde 's whale, the ate wate rs around the world. They are especial• minke whale, and the humpback wha le . T he ly abundant in areas of high food productivity. Balaenidae includes the ri ght whales, the G reen• Minke whales, the most widespread of the ror• la 11cl or howhead whale, and the pygmy right q11als , are fou nd in troi;,i cal, temperate, and polar wl1all'. Tht· Escl1ril'i1lida(· l'ontains on ly th e wa ters of holh h<'misphe res. gray whal e . The n,ain food of rorqual s is various species Rorquals. The rorquals, including the blue of krill (euphausii ds). Sei whales prefer cope- whale and the humpback, have simil ar shapes Jods if available. Animals such as small squid, and differ mainly in size. All have deep length• !antern fish (Myctophidae), and certain amphi• wise furrows in th e skin of the throat. pods :ire occasionally taken by rorquals. Bryde's Blue Whale. The blue whale (Jfolae11071t ern whales feed 0 11 kri ll in pelagic waters and fish in rnusct1l11s) is th e largest of all whales and the big• coastal areas. In certain feeding areas, one or gest animal that eve r li ved. One fema le caught two humpbacks swim in an upward spiral around in the Antarctic measured 100 feet (30.5 meters), swanns of krill found on or below the surface. with an estimated weight of more than 160 tons. As th ey circle the krill they expel air in a chain of This SJ?eci es is long and streamlined, as are other bubbles from the blowhole. The ri sin g bubbles rorquals, in contrast to the more heavyset right form a "bubble ne t" that causes the krill to mass whales and the humpback whale. The color is a in th e center of the ring of bubbles. The whale s mottl ed blue-gray. Other d istincti ve characteri s• the n feed on th e concentrated krill. ti cs are a strikingly small dorsal fin located on the The gestation period is a year or slightly poste rior third of the body; a flat rostrum (u pper longer in all rorquals except the minke, in which jaw or snout) that aJ?pears U-shaped whe n it is approximately 10 months. The mean length viewed from above; and a tall, de nse spout. In at birth ranges from 9 feet (2.8 mete rs) in the th e An ta rctic a yellowish film of diatoms is often minke whale to about 20 feet (6 meters) in the fin present on th e ventral and late ral surfaces of whale. The larger mature rorquals breed every these whales, which p rompted the whaler's term two or three years; in the smaller minke whales "sulfur-bottom." The diatoms accumulate on the fe males calve almost every year. Sexual ma• the whales during long stays in cooler waters. turity is attained in both sexes between the ages The baleen of blue whales is black and rela• of 5 and 15 years. Whales in depleted popula• tively short and coarse. Blues feed almost exclu• tions attain sexual maturity at an earlier age than sive ly on swarms of small crustaceans known as those in populations that have reached the envi• krill (euphausiids). However, off Baja Califor• ronment's carrying capacity. nia, Mexico, they also may eat seagoing crabs Whaling during the 20th century has greatly (Ple uroncodes planipes) during the winter. In reduced almost all populations of all the rorquals the Antarctic region, daily food consumption for and th e humpback. Commercial exploitation of a single whale is up to 8 tons of krill. humpback whales has been prohibited by the The age of sexual maturity for both sexes is IWC since 1966. about 10 years. Individual females give birth Right Whales. The family Balaenidae includes only at two- or three-year inte rval s. Gestation is three types of whales: the right whales (Eubal• about one year. Calves are conceived and born aena glacialis and E. ·australis), th e Greenland at low latitudes during the winte r.' At birth the ri ght or bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), calves a re about 23 fe e t (7 meters) long and usu• and the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata). all y weigh more than 2.5 tons. Calves are Historically, right whales occurred mainly in weaned about eight months after b irth, at a mean cold and warm-temperate coastal waters around 681 ...... - - .....
WHALE
the world. Bow!tcads art' fo1111d 011!, in the Arc• nt:tll'd u11c .,ploitt-d population of20,000 animals. ti c, and pygmy right wh:11,·, ar(' f'o11n;I only in the Although protc·cted from commercial whaling, So11tlll't II I l..11,i splll'rt·. apprnxin1:1tcly IHO gray whales are taken each Higl1t and l)()Wllt'ad wli;,lt's grow lo :tlH>ttl (i() yt· :tr liy Sovit'I catcll('r boats for 11 sc by Siberian feet (18 111cll'rs), of wl,id1 t!tc IH ·ad is alio11t a natives. third of th e total lcngtl1. Othe r di st inguis hing features of ri ght and l,owhead whales are the TOOTHED WHALES absence ofa dorsal fin, large broad flippe rs, and a T!te toothed whales (suborder Odonloceti ) large girth (equal lo total length). Thcst· whales are di stingished by the presence of teeth, a sin• arc all black except for a white blotch on the ven• gle blowhole, a nd the fatty "melon," an acoustic tral surfa ce in right whales and a white chin in lens that focuses incoming echolocation signals. bowhead whales. The most distinctive external Toothed whales are found in all oceans and con• feature of the right whale is several patches of tiguous seas. In additi on, some dolphins are grayish, ro11gh ened skin ca lled callosities located found in a few rive rs and lakes. Toothed whales on the head. The patt('rtt formed by callosities feed mainly on fish, squid, and shrimp. cn:tlilcs ohscrv,·r, to rr·( ·ogniZl' i11divid11al The three living superfamili es of loothc
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WHALE ------. CLASSIFICATION The classific.:alio 11 or taxonomy of all li,·in)! \\'hal es, including dolphins and porpoises, follows. T he nu111l)('r of SJ)l'<.: ies is given in parentheses aftc>r f' ach gen us. ORDER CETACEA FAMILY DELPHINIDAE: D olphins and grampuses. SU B FAM ILY STENONINAE \.Vhalt• s, clolphi11s, porpoises, hel11gas , ancl Sotn/ia ( l }; T11nn:i. 11arwhal s. Sou.rn (:!): I l 11111phack dolphins. Stl'IIO (I ): Ho11!(h -toothcd dolphin. Suborder Mysticeti SUBFAMILY DELPHININAE Whalehone or baleen whales. /Je/phi1111s (I ): Common dolphin. FAMILY ESCHRICHTIIDAE. C:rmr1p11 .v ( I ): f\i sso's dolphin. J-: schric hti11 .1· (I ): Cray whale. La,:!t·,wd1·/plois (I ): Fraser's dolphin. FAMILY BALAENOPTERIDAE: florqu :d , I .ng,, ,wr pl11111clw .-. (fi } /Jala e 1107,l(' l°{J (fi ): Bl11t.: , li11 , sci , UryJc.:·~. ,1110 minkl· s,,,,.,.1/a (5) wha lP s. Turs i ups (I ): Bo~tlcnose dolphin. !ifrgrq,tf•ro (1) : ll11mphack wlialf' . SUBFAMILY GLOB ICEPHALI NAE: Killer whal<•s . rAMIL Y OALACNIDA[: Huwlw.1111111d 11gl11 wl1,.J,., J,', ·11 ·\11 ( I ) I\ ,.:111\· ~illl'1 \\ 1 l111lr . SUlll /\MILY NLOll/\1./\LNINAL c:lol,i, ,·pl1nlt1 (~ ). l'dot \Vhalc~ (' 111 u.,-ra (I ): P yg 111 y 1i1,,d1t whale . Orri,111~ (I ); J..:.iller whal(•. S UBFAMILY B/\LAENINAE Pc·1w1wf·q1 /wla (I ): Melon-headed whale. /Ja/anu, ( l ): Howl·wad whalt.' . Pscudorca ( l }; False killer whale. E11/w lo,·r1a ( 1): lU.c!l11 wli:1lc- . SUBFAMILY LISSODELPHININAE . Suborder Odontoceti. Lis.rnde/pl,i.1· (2): Hight-whale
., clams, and a human boot. Some of the objects Little is known about either species of Kogia. are evidence that sperm whales sometimes feed Most historical records are not accurate as to spe• along the sea-floor. Adult males can remain sub• cies, since th e dwarf sperm whale was only merged for periods of an hour or more. Sonar recentl y acce)?ted as a distinct species. They are operalors have actively tracked sperrn whales lo rarely _sighted at sea but afpear to be solitary depths of 9,200 feet (2,800 meters). or lo form small schools o about six or seven The IWC prohibited factory-ship whali ng for animals. Nothing is known about the overall spenn whales in I!J79. Beginning about 1982 ahundance of these whales, but because they are lhe remaini ng catch, f'ro111 North Pacific shore co111111unly stranded in some areas they must Le stations, was red uced to 400 sperm whales a locall y abundant. year, compared with a peak total North Pacific Beaked Whales. These are a diverse family of catch of 29,000 in the mid-1960's. Although fe• 18 species in five genera. They are exclusive ly male sperm whales are stil l numerous, the num• oceanic in distribution. Beaked whales are of ber of adult males is greatly reduced. medium size, with adults ranging in length from Sperm whales are the source of ambergris, a. about 13 feet (4 meters) in Mesoplodon to slight• waxy substance once highly prized as a base for ly more th an 39 feet (4 meters) in Bernrdius. In perfumes and cosmetics. Masses of ambergris all species except the Tasman beaked whale the up to 220 pounds (100 kg) accumulate in the upper teeth are absent or vesti gial and no more whale's lower intestine. Ambergris is some• than four teeth are present in the lower jaws. times found on beaches or floating in the sea. Other characteristics of the family include a pair Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales. The range of of rleep throat grooves and Aukes with no median sizes in sexually mature Kogia is 7 to 11 feel notch. The two best-known species are the (2.1-3.4 meters). The diet of both whales con• northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampul• sists mainly of various species of smaller squid latus) and the Baird's beaked whale (Berardius but also includes fishes and crustaceans. Stom• bairdii). ach contents from dwarf sperm whales indicate Very littl e is known about this group, si nce that they dive to depths of at leasl 985 feet (300 they are infrequently observed and difficult to meters). Age of sex ual maturity is unknown, as ide ntify at sea. They feed mainly on various are most other details of the reproductive cy• squid and some fishes and appear to be deep cl e. divers. The northern bottlenose has been re- 682a ,..k ... _ ......
Unlike most other sharks, the docile whale shark is not a meat• eater. It feeds an small crusta• ceans and other plankton.
ROB[R r COMM(R1(ARTH Yl(WS
ported to dive for 11p to two hours. They are usu• with white spots and the only shark with the ally seen in groups of up to six whales. mouth at th e end of the snout rather than below The only information on reproductive cycles it. Unlike the vast majority of sharks, the whale is fi >r 111 0 two species tak en t·ommcrc:iall y. The shark does not prey on large fish or other large esti111 alt!d age of sexual 111aturity in Bair