Whales are enormous and aquatic animals that reside in all oceans around the world. The term whale is generally used for a wide variety of marine mammals, which include dolphin, whales and porpoises. These intelligent mammals collectively belong to order cetacean, which denotes that they are predominantly aquatic inhabitants. Whales exhibit a peculiar migrating characteristic. Whales are capable of making the longest seasonal migrations. They can travel over 12,500 miles in a single year. Concerning what do whales eat, they eat a variety and large amount of food. In winters, they migrate to colder regions where food is abundant. When the weather gets colder, the food becomes scarce and they migrate back to warmer regions for mating and breeding. The blue whale is the largest whale in fact, the largest living animal on earth. As you can see in the whale pictures, these enormous mammals extend to a height of 94 feet (29m) the height of a 9 storey building and weigh around 110 tons!

A Few Significant Characteristics Of Whales

Let us bring into consideration, some of the important characteristics of whales.

Spy Hopping

Spy hopping is an interesting cetacean activity in which the whales jump out of water, look around and then submerge back into water. They do it too frequently for an unknown reason.

Lob Tailing

Lob tailing is a remarkable whale trait that gives them clear distinction over dolphins. They stick their tail out, oscillate it for a while and then, slap it back on the waters surface. This produces a large splash with a loud sound. Most experts agree that this lob tailing serves as a herald for other whales in the pod!

Whales Are The Largest Animals In The World!

It is one of the established whale facts that these creatures have the distinction of being the largest animals in the world! Blue whale is the largest mammal that has ever existed on the planet earth. These gigantic, enormously build structures can be up to 110 feet long. Conversely, the smallest whale is the dwarf sperm whale that is just 8 feet long.

Whales Make Extremely Social Mammals

Whales observe strong kinship ties. A social group of whale is called a pod, school or a gam. These mammals are very friendly and develop very strong bonds with other members in the pods. Whales prefer to travel, hunt and migrate in schools.

Whale Song And Echolocation

Here are some of the most amazing facts about whales. Some whales including baleen, humpback and blue whales are capable of producing a melodious sound that is called whale song. Their song can last for 30 minutes. According to a traditional explanation, these fabulous creatures sing to seduce females and prepare them for mating purpose. Various researches have elicited that dolphins rely on sound for communicating and hunting which is called echolocation. It allows them to communicate with other members of the pod by detecting sound waves.

The Most Dangerous Predators Of Whales Are Humans

Human activities are posing a serious threat to their survival. Any other creature in the water does not intimidate them. Water pollution, hunting and habitat destruction can be termed as the prime reasons for their extinction. Though the scenario seems quite hopeless, but a little effort on everybodys part, can make a big difference!