AVAILLL+Whale+Reading


 * ALL ABOUT WHALES **

Whales and dolphins are a group named Cetaceans. They are mammals (like us), have a high level of intelligence and can range in size from about 1 metre (a small dolphin) to the enormous Blue whale about 25metres long. There are no fewer than 84 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises worldwide. About half of them have been sighted or live in New Zealand waters. As mammals, they are warm-blooded, suckle milk from their mum, breathe air though lungs, have a highly evolved brain, live in social groups having a strong family bond and have developed languages including dialects and songs. They also have smooth, streamlined bodies, blubber as insulation, a powerful tail and senses designed for a life underwater. They have a blow-hole or two to breathe in oxygen, which seals when they go underwater. The shape, height and visibility of the 'blow' is distinctive for each species of whale. Cetaceans steer by using slight movements of their flippers, and they have special lenses in their eyes to see underwater or in the air. Cetaceans also show distinctive surface behaviour such as: Cetacean's bodies, flippers, flukes and dorsal fins come in a range of distinctive shapes, size, colours and patterns. Their dominant sense is hearing, receiving sound vibrations to detect the direction of the source of any sound. And it is believed they navigate beneath the water by using the earth's magnetic field. Cetaceans are divided into two Groups: **__Baleen__** (Mysticeti) or **__Toothed__** (Odontoceti) Whales. Baleen whales have a double blow-hole and they feed by gulping a huge amount of water containing their food (such as krill, small fish and zooplankton) which is then sieved through baleen combs, made from keratin like your fingernails. The water is then dispersed out the side of their mouths and they swallow the food. Examples of Baleen Whales are: Humpbacks, Southern Right Whales, Minke Whales and the massive Blue Whale. Toothed whales have a single blow-hole and have many peg-like teeth which they use to catch and bite their prey, such as large fish and squid. They also use a sound method called echolocation to produce a sound picture of everything around them. A bit like sonar radar, they emit high frequency clicks that rebound off an object. They know where the object is, it's size, shape and texture within their surroundings. Examples of Toothed Whales are: Sperm Whale, Orca (killer whale), Bottlenose and Hector Dolphins. The most common whales and dolphins sighted in New Zealand waters are: ** The Southern Right Whale ** Right whales are **__Baleen__** whales and there are three seperate species, the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern Right Whale. Right whales received their name from whalers who considered them the 'right whale to catch', they are slow swimmers, often travel close to land, have huge quantities of oil and float when harpooned. Basically they were easy to catch and were worth more money than some other whales. Right whales have large wide bodies, broad flippers and no dorsal fin on their back. They are dark grey to black in colour. A right whale's head is covered in raised patches of rough skin which are called 'ÇALLOSITIES'. The callosities are usually a whitish colour. Different types of whale lice live on the callosities. Right whales are chubby.... they weigh from 30-80 tonnes... they definitely don't belong to a weight watchers club! Southern Right whales are up to 17m long, have a V-shaped blowhole due to the wide spacing of their blowholes, and a distinctive arched mouth. Right whales live approximately 70 years. Right whales have a huge mouth! Their baleen is up to 3m long and they have over 500 pieces inside their mouth. The baleen has fine hairy fringes on the ends which helps to trap their food. Right whales feed on copepods which is a type of zooplankton. Each copepod is about the size of a grain of rice and the whales eat about 3 tonnes every day when they are feeding.
 * ** Breaching ** : Coming out head-first from the water with most of their body then flopping back down with a big spash!;
 * ** Fluking ** : Raising their tail flukes out of the water before taking a dive;
 * ** Lobtailing ** : Slapping their tail flukes out and against the water repeatedly;
 * ** Blowing ** : The exhalation (out) and inhalation(in) of air;
 * ** Spyhopping ** : Raising their head out to take a looksee around!;
 * ** Flipper slapping ** : Rolling onto their side and flapping their flippers!
 * ** Baleen Whales ** || ** Toothed Whales ** ||
 * * Minke Whale
 * Blue Whale
 * Humpback Whale
 * Southern Right Whale
 * Fin Whale
 * Bryde's Whale || * Sperm Whale
 * Killer Whale/Orca
 * Grays Beaked Whale
 * Long-finned Pilot Whale
 * Southern Right Whale Dolphin
 * Bottlenose Dolphin
 * Hectors Dolphin
 * Dusky Dolphin
 * Common Dolphin ||

Cool and Amazing Right Whale Facts:
Right whales go sailing!!! Their tails are up to 7m across and they often lift their tails into the air and then 'sail' across the water! Right whales also like to do lobtails.... one Right whale at Campbell Island raised his tail and then hit it in the water over 50 times in less than an hour.

Not So Cool:
Right whales almost became extinct by 1850 in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. North Atlantic Right whales are still very rare....there may be less than 500 left and North Pacific Right whales are even rarer with only an estimated 100 whales left. Southern Right whales are making a recovery in some places like Australia and South Africa. Today most New Zealand Right whales are found at the Auckland and Campbell Islands.....we hardly see any around mainland New Zealand. Right whales are endangered.