Interesting facts about sperm whales Is a great opportunity to learn more about large marine animals. They live in large groups, the number of which can reach thousands of individuals. In nature, mammals have practically no enemies, with the exception of the killer whale.
So, here are the most interesting facts about sperm whales.
- The sperm whale lives throughout the World Ocean, except for the polar regions.
- The basis of the diet of the sperm whale is cephalopods, including giant squids.
- The sperm whale is the largest representative of toothed whales (see interesting facts about whales).
- The weight of the male reaches 50 tons, with a body length of about 20 m.
- The sperm whale is capable of making the deepest dives of any mammal. It is curious that the animal can stay at 2 km depth for 1.5 hours!
- What distinguishes the sperm whale from whales is its rectangular head, number of teeth, and a number of other anatomical features.
- An interesting fact is that when hunting for prey, sperm whales use ultrasonic echolocation.
- Today in the world there are about 300-400 thousand sperm whales, but this figure is inaccurate.
- When injured, the sperm whale carries a huge danger to others. There are many known cases when wounded sperm whales attacked whaler sailors and even sunk whaling ships.
- The sperm whale's tooth is not covered with enamel and weighs about 1 kg.
- The brain of a sperm whale weighs more than the brain of any other living creature on the planet - about 7-8 kg.
- The mouth of the sperm whale has a rough surface, which helps the animal to retain prey.
- Despite the presence of teeth, the sperm whale swallows its prey whole.
- Unlike other whales, in which when exhaling the fountain is directed straight up, in sperm whales the stream of water comes out at an inclination of 45⁰.
- The sperm whale is capable of producing ultra-loud sounds, reaching 235 decibels.
- When diving, most of the air (see interesting facts about air) is concentrated in the sperm whale's air sac, another 40% in the muscles, and only 9% in the lungs.
- Under the skin of large sperm whales there is a half-meter fat layer.
- The sperm whale can swim at a speed of 37 km / h.
- There is a known case when the sperm whale lived up to 77 years of age, but this figure may be higher.
- The sperm whale has poor eyesight, in the absence of a complete sense of smell.
- An interesting fact is that sperm whales do not stop growing throughout their lives.
- Pregnant females carry babies for 15 months.
- At birth, the weight of a sperm whale reaches 1 ton, with a body length of up to 4 m.
- The colossal water pressure at depth does not harm the sperm whale, because its body is largely composed of fat and other fluids, very little compressed by pressure.
- During sleep, animals hover motionless at the very surface of the water.