![]() For all we know, both theories could be right.īecause of an uncanny ability to efficiently store oxygen in their blood and muscles, adult Sperm whales can stay submerged well over an hour without taking a breath! They have been tracked by sonar diving to depths of 3,900 feet. The other theory suggests that the organ is used to focus and control the beam of sound that the whale uses for echolocation. This technique could be a way of assisting the whale with diving and ascending. When melted again, the wax expands, making the whale less dense. If the wax is solid, it contracts and becomes more dense, making the whale sink better. By controlling blood flow to the organ (and therefore its temperature), the whale might be able to control whether the wax is liquid or solid. The waxy oil within the organ has a melting point of between 25-35 degrees C (77-95 degrees Fahrenheit). One suggests that the organ is a buoyancy control device. Nobody is absolutely sure what the spermaceti organ actually does for the whale, but there are two prevalent theories. In the 18th and 19th centuries, New England whalers sought out the Sperm whale for the valuable spermaceti oil, which makes an exceptionally fine lubricant. The Sperm whale gets its name from the spermaceti organ which fills most of its huge head. Sperm whale oil was considered the finest lubricating oil on Earth. These products were made from Sperm whales back in the whaling days. Seeing a Sperm whale on the water can be tough because the spout is not very high. Lucky for Sperm whales that giant squid can't hear. The only problem with echolocation is that it can also give away the presence of the whale if the prey hears it. Sperm whales can most likely determine the size, direction and distance of prey, which helps them hunt deep below where there is no light. Using this technique, many kinds of whales and dolphins can "see" in complete darkness. The reflected sound bounces back to the whale, which interprets the echo. ![]() The whale produces a series of loud clicks which travel through the water and bounce off objects. It doesn't spray up more than six or eight feet, making it hard to spot from a distance.ĭown in the depths, where there is no light, Sperm whales hunt using echolocation. Unlike most whales where the spout shoots straight up high into the air, the spout of the Sperm whale is aimed to the left and forward. Sperm whales are even harder to find than other species because they don't stick out of the water very much and their distinctive blow is small and easily missed. Whales might be big, but they aren't easy to find. The whale closes the blowhole when it dives to keep the water out. You can see in this photo how the blowhole looks like a pair of lips, and it works like one too. This causes its blow to shoot to the left. The Sperm Whale's blow hole is at an angle on the left side of its head. Only rarely do these energetic animals take a break and rest at the surface. They spend 90% of their lives down deep where they can't be seen. Sperm whales are deep divers, holding their breath and diving thousands of feet down to feed on deep sea squid and fish. Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales on the planet, and perhaps the most abundant of the great whales, but we rarely get to study them because they spend so much time underwater. In fact, we know a lot about what Sperm whales don't do-but not very much else. They do not break ships apart and swallow sailors whole. We now know that Sperm whales are not dangerous to people. This is the reputation these whales have gotten throughout the years, perhaps because of their large size and huge teeth. In Herman Melville's classic novel, a Sperm whale called Moby Dick is protrayed as an evil monster which sinks ships and kills sailors. Join photographer Jonathan Bird on a dive with Sperm whales by watching his on-line adventure series Jonathan Bird's Blue World! ![]() ![]() SPERM WHALES : The Deep Divers of the OceanĪ Sperm whale calf investigating the camera! ![]()
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