Whales are magnificent creatures that have inspired wonder for centuries with their massive size and mysterious lives. They are far reaching, well traveled, social beings who left the land for a life below the surface. Roaming the farthest reaches of the depths, we can only imagine what curiosities they've come across and what wisdom they've gained.
Size
Whales range widely in size with the smallest being the dwarf sperm whale, weighing about 400lbs and coming in at about 2.1 m.
The blue whale is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Lucky for us, we live in a time where we're able to witness the largest animal in existence. The blue whale can reach lengths of about 32 m and weigh up to around 200 tons. To help put that into perspective, its heart is about the size of a small car, a small child could squeeze through its blowhole, and its penis is longer than the tallest human ever recorded. (Sears and Perrin 2009)
Evolutionary History
Whales are mammals, in the order Cetacea, that that are more closely related to cows than any fish in the sea. It took them about 10 million years to fully adapt to life in the ocean. These creatures likely began their transformation in search of food, found an abundance in the intertidal, and continued venturing further out. Over time their auditory system became enhanced for underwater communication and navigation. Eventually their limbs began shortening and their bodies became longer and more streamlined to the point where their limbs could no longer support locomotion on land. About 30 million years ago whales in their current form began appearing. The forelimbs turned to flippers and what's left of the hindlimb are remnants of the pelvis, upper leg bone, and femur which are all housed within the body. (Black 2010)
Proposed ancestors of the modern whale
Basic whale anatomy
Run in with Humans
Whaling dates back over 4,000 years, its thought the Norwegians and Japanese were amongst the first to take part in what would later be seen as a tradition for many different cultures. The meat, blubber, organs, and skin would be utilized as food. The baleen would be used for fishing line and woven into baskets or used as roof material. The bones would be used for tools and ceremonies while the blubber would be used to make oil. Whaling took off in the mid 1800’s in the United States thanks to advancements in technologies like gun loaded harpoons and steamships. It’s estimated that about 3 million whales were killed between 1900 and 1999, leaving eight species critically endangered. The International Whaling Commission was established in 1946 to prevent over whaling and established sanctuaries to help the whale populations recover. (Marrero 2012) Unfortunately both Norway and Japan are against these protection policies and have been known to continue to hunt whales illegally.