Whales

Whales
By Shelby Bayless

Whales are majestic creatures. Whales are beautiful and intelligent. They all come in different sizes but have similar habitats, diets and life cycles. Read the rest of my report to find out more.

There are two main kinds of whales – baleen and toothed whales. Toothed whales use their teeth to catch their food. They don’t chew their food. Baleen whales don’t have teeth. They have baleen that hangs from their upper jaw. It looks like a wide broom in a whale’s mouth. They use their baleen to separate the fish from the water. They are very different from each other. Their blowholes are even different. Toothed whales have one blowhole and baleen whales have two. Baleen whales are usually bigger than toothed whales.

Whales live in the ocean. They like cool water. Many whales migrate in the winter from Antarctica and the North Pole area to warmer places. In the spring they have their babies and then head home. Some swim 5,100 miles each way! Some of the smaller whales like belugas and orcas can live in aquariums like at Sea World.

All whales eat fish. Toothed whales can eat fish, seals and penguins. One kind of toothed whales eats other whales, the orca. Baleen whales eat small fish, plankton and krill.

All whales are mammals. So, the babies are born alive. They nurse from their mommy’s milk. A baby whale is a calf. Toothed whales can live for 30 years. Baleen whales can live for 70 years. They are warm blooded. They get their oxygen from the air not like fish get it from the water.


Cool Whale Facts

• Whales can’t see well in the dark water so they use echolocation.
• The biggest whale is the blue whale and just its tongue weighs as much as a full grown elephant.
• An orca is called a killer whale because it is the only one that attacks other whales.
• Whales don’t usually attack humans.
• Belugas look albino but they are really supposed to be born white.