Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, usually excluding dolphins and porpoises. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla, which consists of even-toed ungulates.
- A blue whale is larger than a basketball court.
- Humans killed at least 2.8 million whales in the 20th century.
- The water in a blue whale's mouth weighs as much as its entire body.
- A natural predator of the Moose is the Killer Whale. They have been known to prey on moose swimming around America's Northwest Coast.
- Many expensive Perfumes contain whale poop.
- Whales can suffer from sunburns.
- There's only one all-white humpback whale known in the world.
- Whales drown if they remain underwater for over 30 minutes.
- Despite their massive size, blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill, tiny shrimp-like animals about the size of a jelly bean.
- A blue whale's tongue can weigh as much as an elephant.
- Whale Sharks can live up to 100 years.
- You can tell the age of a whale by counting the rings in its earwax.
- A blue whale's heart can be as large as a car.
- Blue whales can get a tan.
- Killer Whales are actually dolphins, not whales.
- The blue whale can produce the loudest sound of any animal. At 188 decibels, the noise can be detected over 800 km (500 mi) away.
- Dolphins and whales give birthwith the tail first instead of the head.
- In their first year of life, baby blue whales gain 200 pounds (91 kg) every day.
- Humans, killer whales and short-finned pilot whales are the only species in which females live well beyond menopause.
- Grey whales always mate in a threesome: two males to one female.
- A 2008 study found that sperm whales sleep in vertical postures just under the surface in passive shallow 'drift-dives', generally during the day.
- Humans have been hunting whales since the Stone Age. Ancient whalers used harpoons to spear them from boats out at sea.
- Most of a sperm whale's head is filled with a fatty, yellow tissue called "junk."
- Whale milk has the consistency of toothpaste.
- 18th and 19th century whalers hunted whales for their oil, which was used as lamp fuel and lubricant.
- Only three known mammals experience menopause: orcas, short-finned pilot whales and humans.
- Sperm whales are the loudest animals on Earth. Their calls reach up to 230 decibels.
- Whales are so big, they can take up to 100 years of creatures consuming them to decompose.
- Blue whales can eat half a million calories in a single mouthful.
- Whales walked on land about 47 million years ago.
- Dolphins and whales squeal to express delight.
- Until three million years ago, whales were less than 30 feet long.
- Scientists have noticed that humpback whales around the world have been rescuing animals being hunted by orcas.