Illustration for The Atlantic, on the enduring mystery of whales and human’s long and fraught relationship with them. I’ve always had recurring dreams with whales, so this was a very dear assignment to get. Many thanks to my AD Arsh!
When sperm whales need a nap, they take a deep breath, dive down about 45 feet and arrange themselves into perfectly-level, vertical patterns. They sleep sound and still for up to two hours at a time between breaths, in pods of 5 or 6 whales, presumably for protection. No one knew whales slept vertically until a 2008 study documented the behavior. And no one captured really good photography of it in the wild until 2017. French photographer Stephane Granzotto was documenting sperm whales in the Mediterranean for his book on the creatures when he came across these sleeping whales
Two male #beluga at the #sheddaquarium play with a rubber ring #enrichment item. They spent easily half an hour dragging around their pool, balancing it on their rostrums and diving through it. In the first photo, you can see how flexible their necks are; the cervical vertebrae in #belugawhales are not fused (unlike most #cetaceans ) which is likely an adaptation that helps them maneuver under ice. #whales #belugawhale #adaptation #animaladaptations #environmentalenrichment (at Shedd Aquarium) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnHg9FUAoHW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1q88bdzu3oldl
Guys I went whale watching for the first time and it was amazing! We saw a group of 5 humpback whales 2 calves and 3 adults. I got some pretty decent shots and seeing them in their natural habitat was wonderful.
Humpback whales are known for their complex songs and melodies, but bowhead whales are the “jazz singers” of the baleen deep sea singers, according to oceanographer Kate Stafford. Over a three-year period, Stafford recorded bowhead whales in the Fram Strait in the Arctic singing 184 different melodies. The whales also altered their songs from year to year. Stafford talks about why these whales might have such a diverse songbook. Listen to the interview here.
Whales are majestic, awe-inspiring animals. Some species can reach up to 150 tons and take in a living room-sized volume of water in one gulp. They can even dive thousands of feet into the ocean while holding their breath all the way down. But these traits are also why whales are a mystery to scientists. It’s hard to imagine that the earliest ancestors of these graceful creatures of the deep were four-legged dog-like animals that lived on land.
In his book Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures, paleontologist Nick Pyenson examines the fascinating features of these animals—from their enormous size, echolocation abilities, and specialized feeding behaviors—and how they can be used to piece together the evolutionary story of whales. Tune in to today’s show at 2pm ET for our wrap up of Oceans Month!
Photo by Smithsonian Institution Archives/Public Domain
Do they not have skulls!? Why is it mushy there!?!? @bunjywunjy
well of course beluga has a skull!! that’s just not where it is.
see, you wouldn’t necessarily pick up on this, but beluga skulls (and most cetacean skulls in general) are pretty much
flat…
so what’s going on up there? well, most of the beluga’s head is taken up by soft tissue and a large organ called the melon, which is basically a big ol waterballoon of semiliquid fat!
(boob. it’s a head boob.)
this organ is found in every toothed whale and dolphin species on the planet and it’s INCREDIBLY important, because the melon is what lets them echolocate!
the actual sound-producing organ is inside their nasal passage of all places, which sits up behind there, but the melon is what’s actually used to fine-tune the soundwaves into the laser-accurate pinpoints that dolphins and toothed whales are so famous for.
tldr: without their head boob, belugas and their relatives would be literally flying blind!
does slapping the melon like that hurt it ? like does it affect how it works or anything
@weirdgirlwambsgans@vampire-juicebox you guys are in luck bc it does not! Belugas will squish their melons voluntarily against things like rocks and glass. Think of it like when you squish your butt (but at the same time not, bc they have no nerve endings beyond the skin) they even voluntarily let humans play with it!
This is a strong creature, if that hurt or bothered it, you would know
Unlike other marine newborns that are left to fend for themselves right after birth, baby humpback whales(Megaptera novaeangliae)—called ‘calves’ (singular: 'calf’)—receive a great deal of parental care and attention.
Humpback whale breeding and calving season coincide. So, while the other adult whales are doing their thing in the deeper parts of the ocean, mother humpbacks responsibly guide their calves to shallower and calmer waters, away from all the…fornicating.
Shallower waters offer the young whale protection from predators (like sharks and killer whales), minimize energy expenditure, prevent disturbance from other humpbacks, and make it easier for mother to keep watch.
Moving to the shallows also keeps momma away from all those horny male whales, who can be pretty damn persistent during the breeding season.
A remarkable new study on how whales behaved when attacked by humans in the 19th century has implications for the way they react to changes wreaked by humans in the 21st century. The paper, published by the Royal Society on Wednesday [17 March 2021], is authored by Hal Whitehead and Luke Rendell, pre-eminent scientists working with cetaceans, and Tim D Smith, a data scientist, and their research addresses an age-old question: if whales are so smart, why did they hang around to be killed? The answer? They didn’t. Using newly digitised logbooks detailing the hunting of sperm whales in the north Pacific, the authors discovered that within just a few years, the strike rate of the whalers’ harpoons fell by 58%. […] Before humans, orca were their only predators […]. It was a frighteningly rapid killing, and it accompanied other threats to the ironically named Pacific. From whaling and sealing stations to missionary bases, western culture was imported to an ocean that had remained largely untouched […].
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Headline and text published by: Philip Hoare. “Sperm whales in the 19th century shared ship attack information.” The Guardian. 17 March 2021.
Catching a sperm whale during the 19th century was much harder than even Moby Dick showed it to be. That’s because sperm whales weren’t just capable of learning the best ways to evade the whalers’ ships, they could quickly share this information with other whales, too, according to a study of whale-hunting records. […]
“At first, the whales reacted to the new threat of human hunters in exactly the same way as they would to the killer whale, which was their only predator at this time,” study lead author Hal Whitehead, a professor of biology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, told Live Science. “[The sperm whales] all gathered together on the surface, put the baby in the middle, and tried to defend by biting or slapping their tails down. But when it comes to fending off Captain Ahab that’s the very worst thing they could do, they made themselves a very large target.”
The whales seem to have learned from their mistakes, and the ones that survived quickly adapted — instead of resorting to old tactics, the whalers wrote in their logbooks, the sperm whales instead chose new ones, swimming fast upwind away from the whalers’ wind-powered vessels.[…]
The whales communicated with and learned from each other rapidly, and the lessons were soon integrated into their wider culture across the region, according to the researchers’ interpretation of the data.
“Each whale group that you meet at sea typically comprises two or three family units, and the units quite often split off and form other groups,” Whitehead said. “So, what we think happened is that one or two of the units that make up the group could have had encounters with humans before, and the ones who didn’t copied closely from their pals who had.“
Sperm whales are excellent intel sharers: Their highly observant, communicative nature, and the fact that each family unit only stays in larger groups for a few days at a time, means they can transmit information fast.
As studies show, that information could be news on new threats, new ways to hunt or new songs to sing.
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One example of whales’ extraordinary information sharing abilities involves lobtail feeding, in which a humpback whale slaps its tail hard against the water’s surface, submerges to blow disorienting bubbles around its prey, and then scoops the prey up in its mouth. Researchers first observed this tactic being used by a single whale in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1980, before it spread throughout the regional population in just 10 years.
Whale culture also extends far deeper than innovative ways to feed. “Sperm whales are divided into acoustic cultural climates,” Whitehead said. “They split themselves into large clans, each with distinctive patterns of sonar clicks, like a dialect, and they only form groups with members of the same clan.”
Different whale clans each have different ways of singing, moving, hunting and looking after their calves. These differences are profound enough to even give some clans a survival advantage during El Nino events, according to Whitehead. […]
In the 20th century, whales, especially the 13 species belonging to the category of ‘great whales’ — such as blue whales, sperm whales and humpback whales — found themselves pursued by steamships and grenade harpoons that they could not escape. These whales’ numbers plummeted and they soon faced extinction. […] [T]hey still face the growing destabilization of their habitats brought about by industrial fishing, noise pollution and climate change.
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Headline, image, caption, and text published by: Ben Turner. “Sperm whales outwitted 19th-century whalers by sharing evasive tactics.” Live Science. 19 March 2021.
If you don’t happen to know much about the nutty story of whale evolution, you should watch this video about one of the most amazing transitions in mammalian history.
Gray Whale Above Water A gray whale surfaces above the water in the Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Baja California Sur, Mexico. More than half of all gray whale births occur in this gray whale nursery lagoon. Photo by Gilad Rom
When fossils of Basilosaurus were first discovered, it was thought to have been a marine reptile, hence its name meaning King’s Lizard. It was later correctly classified as an early whale.
Fun Fact: It is known that Ambulocetus was an early ancestor of whales because its teeth, ear bones, and nostrils are similar to those of later cetaceans.
***We interrupt your regularly [sic] scheduled plant post to bring you one humpback whale.*** Humpbacks, known scientifically as Megaptera novaeangliae, are famous for their singing and surface behaviors such as breaching. Though hunted to near extinction, populations have partially recovered, but these beautiful beings continue to be impacted by noise pollution and run ins with ships and fishing gear. All ocean life needs our protection! Support governmental agencies such as NOAA Fisheries to ensure the continued recovery of humpbacks. This ink and marker painting, titled ‘Blue Song,’ was made for a fellow whale lover. I suspect my patronus would be a humpback whale. What is yours? #Megaptera #Balaenopterid #art #science #scientificillustration #illustration #penandink #markerart #prismacolor #art #originalart #whales #humpbackwhale #oceans #NOAA #conservation #patronus #harrypotter
Cherry Pie Day - It seems only right that we celebrate the cherry pie so close to Presidents Day as we all know the story (albeit untrue) of President George Washington and the cherry tree. Cherries were, however, one of his favorite foods.
Comfy Day - The word “comfy,” which is short for “comfortable,” is used to describe places and activities that put us at peace. Ultimately, what binds us all is the need to be at ease. Some people are pulled to a certain blanket. Some people think of a relaxing vacation. Our furry friends or a special hoodie can also contribute to our sense of well-being. The level of comfort rises even further when you add in some relaxing music and delivery of food.
Leadership Day - When you think about it, in every relationship, one person influences another, whether a parent or child, spouse or friend, student or teacher, employer or employee. In our everyday interactions with one another, someone is leading or influencing the other to do something or become something. This means that anyone can be a leader, whether you have a title or not.
Love Your Pet Day - This holiday focuses on giving extra attention to our pets. The day encourages pampering our pets and focusing on the special relationship pets hold in our lives.
Muffin Day - Bakeries offer these single-serving quick breads in several sizes. From mini bite-sized muffins and jumbo ones to the favored muffin tops, they also offer a varied nutritional value. Depending on the ingredients, a muffin can be high in fat and calories. However, substituting whole grains, changing a few other ingredients, and limiting the serving size can increase the nutritional quality of a muffin.
World Day Of Social Justice - Social justice has become a popular idea in recent years. However, the idea of it goes back to the time of Saint Augustine of Hippo, a fourth-century philosopher. A Jesuit priest named Luigi Taparelli coined the phrase “social justice.” Taparelli was a Catholic scholar who lived from 1793 to 1882. The term social justice spread during the revolutions of 1848. This was a time of political upheavals in Europe.
World Whale Day - Aims to raise awareness of these magnificent creatures, their beauty as well as their ecological value to the planet.
![***We interrupt your regularly [sic] scheduled plant post to bring you one humpback whale.*** Humpba](https://64.media.tumblr.com/8c27d991a01e5a4a1e081e6cc0b1f936/6dcb0b7b733a5092-5a/s1280x1920/a2e099501d67b2245823ebab6895e96ebc307963.jpg "***We interrupt your regularly [sic] scheduled plant post to bring you one humpback whale.*** Humpba")
