Blue Whale

Whales are a widely distributed and varied group of cetacean ungulates that live in the ocean. Like other mammals, they breathe oxygen from the air, have a small amount of hair, and are warm blooded.There are two basic kinds of whales, and about 100 species.People use the word whale in different ways. Some use it for all Cetaceans including dolphins and porpoises.

These people say that dolphins and porpoises were also whales, because they are also Cetaceans. Others separate out the dolphins and porpoises: common English-speaking people have never called them or thought of them as whales unless they are very large. Actually, there is no clear line between whales and dolphins.

Whales have been killed for meat and oil by whalers. However, many countries have laws saying not to kill whales anymore. Some countries, such as Iceland and Japan, do not have these laws. In other countries, such as the USA, only Eskimos and some American Indians may legally kill whales such as the blue whale and beluga whale.

The Blue Whale

Baleen whales eat plankton and krill. Plankton are clouds of very small fish floating in the water. The whales' mouths are very large. They open their mouths very wide and hold a big mouthful of sea water. Their throats stretch very wide to make the space inside their mouth even bigger. Then they close their mouth and squeeze out the seawater. The food does not escape because, instead of teeth, these whales have filters called baleen. Baleen is long, hard strips that act like a strainer. The water goes through the baleen. Animals and plants in the water are trapped and swallowed, while the water goes back out. This is very different from the way that toothed whales eat.

Toothed whales eat larger fish or meat and are like big dolphins. They have sharp teeth and usually have a big forehead. Inside the big forehead is a chamber to make and direct sounds. They make all kinds of sounds, including sounds so loud they can shock fish. They can use echolocation to locate things that they can not see. Some toothed whales, such as the sperm whale, are almost never called dolphins. Some of them are always called dolphins. Others are like dolphins in some ways and like whales in others.