Top Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Whales

Find out how to tell the age of a blue whale, which whale has the nicest smile and who is the best at deep dives in this top ten countdown!

1) The wax plug found in a blue whale’s ear is made up of layers that can be counted to estimate the animal’s age.

2) Whales don’t get the water they need from seawater; instead they get water by metabolizing the fat in their food.

3) Whales swim by moving their tails up and down, unlike fish, which swim by moving their tail side to side.

4) The blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on Earth; their heart is about the size of a Volkswagen beetle.

5) Sperm whales spend about 7% of their time drifting inactively; they sometimes take these naps while standing up vertically.

6) Blue whales are one of the loudest animals, producing sounds that other whales can hear 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away.

7) Hippos are the closest living relative to whales.

8) The beluga whale is the only member of the cetacean order that can make facial expressions.

9) Some whales migrate to ‘rubbing beaches’ which are shallow bays lined with rocks that they rub against, likely to help them shed their skin.

10) Cuvier beaked whales hold the record for the mammal with the longest and deepest dive. Scientists have tracked a Cuvier beak whale diving down 9,816 feet (2,992 meters) and staying under water for 138 minutes.

Which of these whale facts do you think is the coolest?

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1) http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/16/biography-of-a-blue-whale-told-through-ear-wax/
2) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-sea-mammals-drink/
3) http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evograms_03
4) http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/education/cetaceans/blue.php
5) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-whales-and-dolphin/
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080221/full/news.2008.613.html
6) http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/blue-whale/
7) http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evograms_03
8) http://us.whales.org/species-guide/beluga-whale

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