B媽Letting Go孩子放手飛~

The giants of the ocean, whales are big, strong, and heavy. They are huge and cool. There are many types, they hunt together in groups, and are tame.

Some people think that whales will bite people. These people are afraid that if they catch a whale or get close to one, it will bite them. But some scientists find this is wrong, whales won’t bite people. They are very tame. You can ride on whales like riding on the dolphins. They are interesting. Whales are endangered now, so we can’t see to many whales.

Look at the picture on the right, there are seven kinds of whales in the picture, they are made up of two categories; the baleen whales and the toothed whales. Baleen whales are the whales that have rows of whalebones hanging from the upper jaw. Baleen whales are also called whalebone whales or great whales. The blue whale is the biggest baleen whale in the world. Blue whales have been known to reach a length of 100 ft ( 30.5 m ) and to weigh as much as 120 tons; their average length is about 75 ft ( 23 m ). Toothed whales are the whales that have sharp teeth in their jaws. The sperm whale is the biggest toothed whale. Male sperm whales may grow to more than 70 ft ( 21 m ) long and females to 30 ft ( 9 m ).

    Whales eat plankton and krill, and they hunt together for this food. First, 4 to 7 whales will go to find food. If a whale finds a group plankton or krill, it will make some sound waves to call their companions to come. Next, they will surround the plankton and krill, and then eat it. They eat their food by surrounding it in a circle and forcing the krill and plankton in side the circle.

Some whales are endangered too. Whales have been an important part of people’s lives for thousands of years. They provide meat, fat, oil, leather, tools, and other materials for making useful, needed things. Hunting whales can make a profit from selling whale parts. Whale hunting, which started in the 1700s, was a very big business until about 60 years ago. Whales were hunted so that people could use the blubber (whale fat) for oil in lamps and to make candles and soap.

Whales don’t bite people, they are interesting and cute, and you should visit them. There are many types, they hunt together, and they are tame.