Sperm Whale

Sperm Whale Latest News

According to a statement by the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom, Sperm whales have been caught headbutting on camera for the first time.

About Sperm Whale

• It is the largest of the toothed whales, easily recognized by its enormous square head and narrow lower jaw.
• It has the largest head and the largest brain of any animal on the planet.
• They are named after the waxy substance—spermaceti—found in their heads.
• The spermaceti is an oil sac that helps the whales focus sound. Spermaceti was used in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles.
• Appearance
  • The sperm whale is dark blue-gray or brownish, with white patches on the belly.
  • It has small paddle-like flippers and a series of rounded humps on its back.
• Distribution
  • They have one of the widest global distributions of any marine mammal species.
  • They are found in all deep oceans, from the equator to the edge of the pack ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.
• Features of Sperm Whale

• • Lifespan: Up to 60 years
  • They are highly social mammals that communicate with one another using a series of clicks called codas, and that each coda has a distinct purpose.
  • Ambergris, a material sometimes found floating in the sea, is formed in the sperm whale’s intestines around a core of undigested solid matter such as squid breaks.

‹ ›

Conservation Status of Sperm Whale

• IUCN: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I

Source: DTE