The Whale is a large, magnificent, intelligent and aquatic mammal. They breath from a hole on top of their head called a blowhole, into their lungs. The whale has a very smooth skin that covers their very streamlined body that moves easily through the water. They are the only mammal that has adapted to life in the open oceans. .
Whales are considered to be "cetaceans" which means various aquatic life chiefly marine mammals of the order cetacean, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, characterized by a nearly hairless body, broad flippers and a flat notched tail. There are 75 species of Cetaceans, but the two groups are toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales are predators that use their peg-like teeth to catch fish, squid and marine mammals. They swallow them whole. They have one blow hole and use echolocation to hunt. Echolocation is a high pitched sound sent out by the whale. It bounces off the object and then returns to the whale. This tells the whales the shape, direction, distance and texture of the object. .
Baleen whales are predators that sieve tiny crustaceans, small fish and other tiny organisms. Baleen whales have a comb-like structure that filters the food from the water. They are larger than the toothed whales and have two blow holes. There are less species of baleen whales.
Many ceteaceans, especially baleen whales, migrate over very long distances each year. They sometimes travel in groups called pods from cold water feeding grounds to warm water breeding grounds. The toothed whales travel in pods, but the baleens do not, they travel alone. The toothed whales travel in pods to catch prey and migrate together to share care of their young. Female whales usually give birth to one calf every 1-3 years in warm water. Even though the whales seem like they have a good life, there is always something threatening their existence. Mostly the baleens because of their large size.
