This huge sea miracle is a giant herd animal that lives in huge groups, often reaching hundreds, and sometimes thousands of heads. It is distributed practically throughout the oceans, the only exception is the polar region.
This marine mammal is a sperm whale. What such an animal exists on Earth, many know. But do you know that this is the only representative of the sperm whale family today. Which is related only to the dwarf sperm whale? In addition, it is the largest of all toothed whales.
This amazing animal will be discussed in this article.
Who is it?
Sperm whale - a giant marine mammal. This is the only living representative of this family. It is very different from other representatives of cetaceans in size, shape, and other features.
Only modern technology has allowed to monitor this animal in the vast depths of the oceans. More recently, this species was on the verge of extinction, since it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that active fishing for them was stopped. A sperm whale tooth was considered very valuable. He was also mercilessly destroyed to obtain spermaceti, blubber and ambergris. Less valuable is sperm whale fat.
Spread
Sperm whale habitats are the most diverse and extensive. These mammals are divided into southern and northern populations. They live in almost all oceans, avoiding only cold polar areas, however, in the Bering Sea and in the northern waters of the Atlantic they can be found quite often.
In the south, they swim almost to the Southern Ocean (South Sandwich Islands). However, only males overcome such long distances, and females are more heat-loving, so they do not swim further than Japan, Australia, Chile and California.
Description
Sperm whales have a characteristic rectangular large head. And this is due to the fact that it is in this part of the animal’s body that the spermaceti sac is located. This organ has a rather complex structure, which consists of two cavities with a specific substance. This bag occupies approximately 90% of the total head volume of the animal.
This mammal is one of the few cetaceans with pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are much smaller than males in size, and also differ in physique, head shape, number of teeth and more.
How much does a sperm whale weigh? Adult males, reaching a length of up to 20 meters, weigh about 50 tons, and females 15 meters long - 20 tons.
Lifestyle and disposition
In many ways, these amazing creatures of nature are notable for the fact that they lead, as a rule, a herd way of life. It is known that in the XVIII century there were flocks in which the number of individuals was about 1,000 whales. Today, unfortunately, even such herds are rare, in which there are more than 250 whales.
These animals are good predators. The following marine animals usually fall into their jaws when searching for food:
- squid;
- fish;
- octopuses;
- cuttlefish.
It should be noted that usually only males can make long migrations in the direction from the equator to the northern latitudes. Females prefer to stay in the warm waters of the temperate zone. Sperm whales do not adhere to any migration rules. It has been revealed that they can swim in the ocean for a long time, while the direction can change quite often. Such behavior, according to researchers, is simply the result of a search for food by these creatures.
Nutrition
Knowing how much the sperm whale weighs and what its dimensions are, it is difficult to imagine how much food it can eat. Mostly it feeds on cephalopods, including giant squids, reaching lengths of 14 to 18 meters. Fish occupies no more than 5% of the diet of this animal.
In search of food, this whale makes incredibly deep dives (up to 2,000 meters or more), and under water can remain up to an hour and a half. Sperm whales are searched for using ultrasonic echolocation, in which, according to some researchers, a spermaceti sac plays an important role. It is used in this case as an acoustic lens. In addition, this organ helps to provide the necessary level of animal buoyancy when diving to great depths.
There is still no accurate data on how much sperm whale food can eat at a time. It also happens that the animal swallows plastic objects, and this negatively affects the digestive system. An animal may die when the intestines are completely blocked.
What is a sperm whale? This is an amazing mammal, whose favorite food is squid. It is for this prey that they descend into the abyss of the oceans, where their victims gather in large flocks. Usually they swallow squid whole, although they have teeth. In the stomachs of sperm whales throughout history there were quite large instances of cephalopods. The largest squid was found in a whale caught off the coast of southern Australia. This instance in length reached more than 2.5 meters, and its mass was 110 kilograms. Sperm whales mostly live where squids are common.
Predator Features
Sperm whales are whales, distinguished by some anatomical features among other mammals of this family. He is a rather dangerous animal, shows great aggressiveness, being wounded. Therefore, hunting for this animal has always been associated with great risk. Enraged sperm whales killed a huge number of whalers, and even there were cases that several whalers were sunk by these marine predators.
Sperm whales quite often attracted the attention of writers and poets in connection with their unique appearance, fierce disposition and complex behavior. Also significant is the role of this animal in the culture of some coastal peoples.
Natural enemies
Sperm whale is an animal that has almost no enemies in nature, with the exception of killer whales, which pose a threat to young animals and females. However, man has long hunted this whale, since in the past he was one of the main objects of whaling. Even the tooth of this whale was appreciated as a wonderful ornamental material.
In connection with predatory prey, which ceased only at the end of the 20th century, the number of sperm whales managed to sharply decrease. However, their numbers remained better than the number of baleen whales. Today, the number of individuals has begun to recover, albeit slowly. But even today, some anthropogenic factors hinder this (intensive fishing, pollution of the seas, etc.). There are approximate data on the number of sperm whales for today. Their number does not exceed 400 thousand goals.
Adult sperm whales have almost no enemies in nature, since no predator can compare with them in strength and size. But young individuals that fight back from the herd of mothers often become victims of killer whales, acting together in groups. They can calmly kill a small sperm whale.
Disease
What is a sperm whale? This is an animal whose diseases are also little known. However, there is evidence that the most common causes of death of sperm whales take first places:
- myocardial infarction;
- bone necrosis;
- atherosclerosis;
- stomach ulcer.
It is also known that many of them suffer from severe helminthic invasions. Huge roundworms, the length of which reaches more than 8 meters, are often found in the placenta of females. The skin of an animal can be severely affected by various crustaceans, which do not cause much damage, but increase energy costs for movement in water, since they reduce the flow around the skin. In addition to all of the above, sticky fish often sit on the sides of sperm whales.
Spermaceti
What is a sperm whale? This is a unique creature, which is associated with many unknown mysteries. It is still not entirely clear why this marine animal needs spermaceti.
According to some scientists, this unusual substance, when cooled and solidified, acquires a different density, which significantly affects the buoyancy of whales (it is known that they are able to dive to great depths). According to another theory, the bag and spermaceti, impregnating the fat layer, play a significant role in the process of obtaining information (echolocation). There are also some researchers who believe that this substance is probably necessary for the sperm whale for good depreciation and to prevent any serious damage during fights between males during the mating season.
Other interesting facts
Over the years of research, the scientist discovered a lot of interesting information about sperm whales:
- The sperm whale was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus.
- The animal’s head is one third of the body, so it’s difficult to confuse it with other cetaceans.
- Teeth during the time of active prey of whales were good ornamental material, valued on a par with walrus fang and mammoth tusk quite expensive.
- The mass of one tooth can reach 2 kilograms.
- The color of the whale skin varies from blue or dark gray to brown. Some males at the fins have white or yellow spots. Also, studies have registered albino sperm whales.
- On the belly of this marine animal, the skin in thickness can reach up to 50 cm.
- The sperm whale’s brain, the largest of all mammals, weighs 8 kg.
- These animals have no sense of smell; however, their hearing is excellent.
- Sperm whales swim at a speed of about 7 km per hour, and this is not very much compared with baleen whales. However, scientists note that they are able to develop a speed of up to 30 km per hour in a fright.
- A highly simplified intestine reaches a length of up to 160 meters, and the stomach holds 500 liters of fluid.
- The digestive tract of males contains a solid gray matter - ambergris. It is a valuable product (aromatic substance) used in the manufacture of perfumes (the manufacture of flavor fixers).
- This marine giant under water can be longer than all mammals (recorded time - 1 hour 52 minutes).
- Large sperm whales can sleep, unlike smaller whale species. They have a period of continuous sleep (10 minutes). Moreover, they are located in the water in an upright position and are in a stationary state.
- Only one cub is born in a female, whose weight, when born, is about one ton with a length of 4 meters.
- Hunting for prey is sometimes carried out by organized groups (up to 15 individuals), with interaction being manifested. They collectively drive production to one place.
- In addition to large species, there are dwarf sperm whales, growing in length up to 4 meters and weighing 400 kg.
Finally
How many sperm whales live? Their life expectancy is from 40 to 50 years.
Catching cetaceans has always been considered an extremely dangerous occupation, as these animals are characterized by a terrible disposition. As noted above, being wounded, they become aggressive and can not only kill a person, but also drown a whaling ship. But that did not stop people.
Hunting for these predators has been banned since 1985, which did not affect the perfumery and medical industries. But today there are almost half a million individuals, which suggests that the population size, although slowly, is growing, not decreasing.