The open ocean is home to many incredible creatures, one of which is whales. Whales have always fascinated me. I don't know if it is their immense size, eerie calls, or something else entirely, but I have always found them incredible. Now, I find them even more incredible because I have learned these interesting facts about them. Get ready to be amazed by these three incredible whale facts.
1. Whales Are Divided Into Two Main Groups
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I honestly didn't know this. I knew that there were different types of whales like the blue whale or the humpback whale but I didn't know about this other sort of grouping. WWF shares that there are baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales, which include humpbacks and blue whales, "have fibrous 'baleen' plates in their mouths instead of teeth." Those baleen allow them to filter out and consume large amounts of their prey, which is zooplankton. Whereas toothed whales like orcas and beluga whales have teeth which allow them to feast on prey such as fish and squid.
2. Dolphins Are Whales But Whales Are Not Dolphins
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Woah, I feel like I am back in math class. Squares are rectangles but rectangles are not squares type of situation. The definition of a whale is "a very large marine mammal with a streamlined hairless body, a horizontal tail fin, and a blowhole on top of the head for breathing." Sounds like both a whale and a dolphin. So what is the difference? Dolphin Safari helps explain the distinction. They share one of the key differences between the two species saying that "whales have two blowholes, unlike dolphins who only have one." Experts believes whales have two to increase their lung capacity since they migrate for long distances.
3. Whales Have Multiple Stomachs
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Last but not least on our list of incredible whale facts we have this gem, whales have multiple stomachs. I don't know what number you are imagining in your head but I promise it is not enough. The majority of whales and dolphins have between 3-4 stomachs, yes don't forget dolphins are included in the mix. However that is not even the half of it, literally not even half of the stomachs that the Baird's whale possesses. Dolphin Safari shares that that incredible whale has 13 stomachs! That's right folks, 13! You may be wondering what a whale needs 13 stomachs for, well the answer is quite simple. The whale needs all those stomachs for digestion. I guess when you are that big and eat that much it kind of makes sense.
"Whale", are you impressed? Sorry, I couldn't help myself. However, I do hope you enjoyed learning about these incredible animals. Here is a bonus fact for you! A 60,000-pound whale can jump fully out of the water! Impressive right, given the fact that they are so large. Especially when you consider the fact that other large animals, like elephants, cannot jump at all.
