WHALES AND OTHER SEA MAMMALS

 WHALES AND OTHER SEA MAMMALS

       Sea mammals spend most of their lives in or near the sea. There are three groups of sea mammals. Whales and dolphins are called cetaceans. Seals and walruses are called pinnipeds. Manatees and dugongs are called Iranians. Well over 10 million crabeater seals are living in the icy Antarctic. Seals are found in many parts of the world, but the southern crab eaters are the most common type of seal on Earth.

A whale’s body is designed for swimming. It has a smooth, streamlined shape for pushing through the water, and blowholes for breathing on top of its head. The huge blue whale is the biggest mammal in the sea. In fact, it’s the biggest animal that has ever lived. It can grow more than 30 meters long and weigh as much as 130 tons. The ancestors of today’s whales once lived on land. About 50 million years ago, they went into the sea to look for food, and their bodies adapted to life in the water.

Whales have a thick layer of fat, called blubber, under their skins. This keeps them warm in the cold sea. At about 50 centimeters, the bowhead whale has the thickest blubber. Some whales have long, though bristles, called baled, hanging down inside their mouths, instead of teeth. They don’t chew their food but sieve it from the water through the baleen. A whale uses its blowhole as a nose. Like all mammals, whales must breathe air to stay alive instead of nostrils, they have a blowhole on top of the head.

Some whales have tones of tiny shellfish are called barnacles. They need to have a solid surface to glue their shells onto. Any rock, ship, or passing whale will do. Strictly speaking, dolphins are small whales with sharp, pointed teeth for catching food, Dolphins live in seas all over the world. The biggest dolphin is the killer whale. A walrus uses its long tusks to chip shellfish from rocks and break breathing holes in the ice. The males also use them to fight off rivals and attract a mate.

To attract a mate or scare off a rival, a male hooded seal blows air into its nose! It can inflate the lining of one of its nostrils so that it looks like a big red balloon. Seals sometimes look as if they’re crying, but it’s not because they’re sad. The tears keep their eyes moist and clean. In the sea, they get washed away. On land, they trickle down their cheeks.

Weddell seals live in the far south on an ice-covered island off the coast of freezing Antarctica. Ringed seals live in the Arctic, at the other end of the world. They’ve been found as far north as the North pole. Some seals and sea lions flip tiny pebbles and sand onto their backs with their flippers in hot weather. This helps to keep them cool, and it also scratches them if their skin is feeling itchy.

Manatees and dugongs live in tropical rivers and warm, shallow water near the coast, in tropical seas. They are sometimes called ‘sea cows’ or ‘sea pigs’ because of their large, lumbering shapes. Manatees don’t have homes on land, so they sleep on the seabed. They live off the southeastern coast of the United States. These manatees have to come to the surface every ten minutes to breathe the air which keeps them alive.

You can tell a dugong’s age from its tusks. To tell a dugong’s age, you need to count the growth rings in its tusks. In the wild, dugong can live for between 60 and 70 years. You and tell manatees and dugongs apart by the shape of their tails. A manatee‘s tail has pointed tips, like a dolphin’s tail. Only manatees and dugongs are vegetarians. They feed on seagrasses and other sea plants. Dugongs also dig up roots from the seabed snouts. All other sea mammals eat meat or other sea plants. Dugongs also dig uproot from the seabed using their horseshoe-shaped snouts. All other sea mammals eat meat or other creatures of some kind.

The fastest sea mammal in the world is the killer whale. With its streamlined body and powerful tail, it can speed through the water at up to 55 KPH. That’s more than six times faster than the quickest human swimmers. Spinner dolphins are easy to recognize. They can leap out of the water, high into the air, then spin around quickly like tops, these amazing acrobats live near the coast in warm seas.

The fastest seal in the sea is the California sea lion, with a top speed of 40 KPH. The fastest on land on the crabeater seal, reaching 19 KPH over snow and ice. Some sea mammals can hold their breath for almost two hours before they have to come to the surface for air. Most humans can only hold their breath for a minute or so.

Sperm whales dive over two kilometers after their food. One sperm whale was even found with two deep-sea sharks in its stomach. It must have dived to three kilometers to catch them. 

Humpback whales are very athletic. Even though the whales may weigh 65 tones, they can leap high into the air and come crashing down into the water on their backs. They can even turn somersaults in the air. In the Arctic and Antarctic, seals dive under the ice to search for food. They can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes before they need to come up for air, so they chew breathing holes in the ice with their strong front teeth.

A walrus’s tusks are actually its two upper teeth. They grow up to a meter long. The walrus uses its tusks to pull itself out of the sea and drag itself out of the sea and drag itself across the land. Grey whales spend the summer feeding in the Arctic. In winter, they swim to the coast of Mexico to breed. They swim back north again in the spring, a round trip of about 20,000 kilometers.  

Sea mammals spend most of their lives in or near the sea. There are three groups of sea mammals. Whales and dolphins are called cetaceans. Seals and walruses are called pinnipeds. Manatees and dugongs are called Iranians. Well over 10 million crabeater seals are living in the icy Antarctic. Seals are found in many parts of the world, but the southern crab eaters are the most common type of seal on Earth. A whale’s body is designed for swimming. It has a smooth, streamlined shape for pushing through the water, and blowholes for breathing on top of its head.

The huge blue whale is the biggest mammal in the sea. In fact, it’s the biggest animal that has ever lived. It can grow more than 30 meters long and weigh as much as 130 tons. The ancestors of today’s whales once lived on land. About 50 million years ago, they went into the sea to look for food, and their bodies adapted to life in the water. Whales have a thick layer of fat, called blubber, under their skins. This keeps them warm in the cold sea. At about 50 centimeters, the bowhead whale has the thickest blubber.

Some whales have long, though bristles, called baled, hanging down inside their mouths, instead of teeth. They don’t chew their food but sieve it from the water through the baleen. A whale uses its blowhole as a nose. Like all mammals, whales must breathe air to stay alive instead of nostrils, they have a blowhole on top of the head. Some whales have tones of tiny shellfish are called barnacles. They need to have a solid surface to glue their shells onto. Any rock, ship, or passing whale will do. Strictly speaking, dolphins are small whales with sharp, pointed teeth for catching food, Dolphins live in seas all over the world. The biggest dolphin is the killer whale.

A walrus uses its long tusks to chip shellfish from rocks and break breathing holes in the ice. The males also use them to fight off rivals and attract a mate. To attract a mate or scare off a rival, a male hooded seal blows air into its nose! It can inflate the lining of one of its nostrils so that it looks like a big red balloon. Seals sometimes look as if they’re crying, but it’s not because they’re sad. The tears keep their eyes moist and clean. In the sea, they get washed away. On land, they trickle down their cheeks.

Weddell seals live in the far south on an ice-covered island off the coast of freezing Antarctica. Ringed seals live in the Arctic, at the other end of the world. They’ve been found as far north as the North pole. Some seals and sea lions flip tiny pebbles and sand onto their backs with their flippers in hot weather. This helps to keep them cool, and it also scratches them if their skin is feeling itchy.

Manatees and dugongs live in tropical rivers and warm, shallow water near the coast, in tropical seas. They are sometimes called ‘sea cows’ or ‘sea pigs’ because of their large, lumbering shapes. Manatees don’t have homes on land, so they sleep on the seabed. They live off the southeastern coast of the United States. These manatees have to come to the surface every ten minutes to breathe the air which keeps them alive.

You can tell a dugong’s age from its tusks. To tell a dugong’s age, you need to count the growth rings in its tusks. In the wild, dugong can live for between 60 and 70 years. You and tell manatees and dugongs apart by the shape of their tails. A manatee‘s tail has pointed tips, like a dolphin’s tail. Only manatees and dugongs are vegetarians. They feed on seagrasses and other sea plants. Dugongs also dig up roots from the seabed snouts. All other sea mammals eat meat or other sea plants. Dugongs also dig up roots from the seabed using their horseshoe-shaped snouts. All other sea mammals eat meat or other creatures of some kind.

The fastest sea mammal in the world is the killer whale. With its streamlined body and powerful tail, it can speed through the water at up to 55 KPH. That’s more than six times faster than the quickest human swimmers. Spinner dolphins are easy to recognize. They can leap out of the water, high into the air, then spin around quickly like tops, these amazing acrobats live near the coast in warm seas.

The fastest seal in the sea is the California sea lion, with a top speed of 40 KPH. The fastest on land on the crabeater seal, reaching 19 KPH over snow and ice. Some sea mammals can hold their breath for almost two hours before they have to come to the surface for air. Most humans can only hold their breath for a minute or so.

Sperm whales dive over two kilometers after their food. One sperm whale was even found with two deep-sea sharks in its stomach. It must have dived to three kilometers to catch them. 

Humpback whales are very athletic. Even though the whales may weigh 65 tones, they can leap high into the air and come crashing down into the water on their backs. They can even turn somersaults in the air. In the Arctic and Antarctic, seals dive under the ice to search for food. They can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes before they need to come up for air, so they chew breathing holes in the ice with their strong front teeth.

A walrus’s tusks are actually its two upper teeth. They grow up to a meter long. The walrus uses its tusks to pull itself out of the sea and drag itself out of the sea and drag itself across the land. Grey whales spend the summer feeding in the Arctic. In winter, they swim to the coast of Mexico to breed. They swim back north again in the spring, a round trip of about 20,000 kilometers.