Whales | Marine Biology
Whales are a species that are very closely linked to dolphins, all dolphins are actually whales, however not all whales are dolphins. Whales, like dolphins, are very intellectual creatures, but these today are being killed as an excuse for overfishing. They are being poached to “reduce competition for fish” and for their oil and blubber. Whales are distributed throughout the world’s oceans and seas, from the Equator to the polar ice, except for the landlocked Caspian and Aral seas. They are mammals, and they share the defining traits of that group: they breathe air, are warm-blooded, give live birth, suckle their young on milk, and have hair. All are entirely aquatic, with specialized adaptations such as flippers and tail flukes for living in water. Whales must surface regularly to breathe, evacuating their lungs more completely than most mammals in an almost explosive breath known as a blow. Blows are visible because water vapour in the whale’s hot breath condenses when the blow is ...