The cetacean species comprises three different marine mammals known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. All species are divided into two suborders: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales are born with baleen plates and bristles, while toothed whales are born with teeth.
The baleen suborder comprises large whales, while the toothed whale species includes both dolphins and porpoises and smaller whale species. There are around 80 – 90 known species of Cetacea, with roughly 40 species of whales and 40 species of dolphin accounted for and less than a dozen species of porpoise in existence today.
As a whole, cetaceans can be found traveling throughout the world’s oceans, from the tropical climates in and around the equator to the arctic and subarctic oceans that are below freezing temperatures.
While not always the case, smaller whales, dolphins, and porpoise species can often be found in warmer temperate waters, while larger species may be seen gathered in colder waters. Larger species also tend to be more solitary, traveling alone, or small pods. In comparison, smaller species tend together into larger pods to better protect themselves and create successful hunting parties when foraging for food.
Part of the reason for this difference in environment/habitat may be that larger cetaceans can better displace heat throughout their body. By having a thicker degree of blubber, larger cetaceans can deal with colder climates more effectively.
Additionally, larger cetacean species can find larger abundances of krill and fish in colder climates which helps them receive adequate quantities of food regularly.
Cetacea that is migratory can often be found living in colder climates during the warmer summer months, where they can stock up on food and replenish their energy. When the winter rolls around, the waters may begin to freeze, and their food supply may end up migrating to warmer climates.
Some migratory cetacean species may be found traveling towards warmer tropical climates when this happens. They can spend their time mating and bearing offspring until the weather warms up around their feeding grounds and their food supply returns.
Most cetacean species stick to a diet consisting of fish, squid, octopus, and various crustaceans; however, a few species such as the killer whale and false killer whale are known to consume other marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, penguins, and other cetaceans.
Although natural predators rarely attack larger cetacean species such as the blue whale and gray whale, infants and smaller toothed whale species may find themselves occasionally being hunted by larger sharks or groups of killer whales. Other than killer whales and sharks, cetaceans may also be occasionally hunted by humans.
The cetacean species is considered a protected species, and illegally hunting these marine mammals can lead to steep fines and imprisonment. However, some countries can still be found hunting and killing these marine mammals for food or minimizing competition for other food sources such as fish or crabs, where dolphins may be found competing against fisheries trying to capture fish.
In terms of size, cetaceans can vary from 4 1/2 ft. and several hundred pounds all the way up to over 100 ft. and 180 tons depending on the species. The average gestation period for cetaceans can vary from 10 months to 17 months depending on the species, and the average lifespan can also vary considerably from 20 years to 200 years.
Cetacean Intelligence
Cetaceans are a very intelligent species. Most of our understanding of cetacean intelligence actually comes from dolphins rather than whales or porpoises. The main reason that it’s easier for biologists and researchers to understand cetacean intelligence (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) using the dolphin species because dolphins are smaller and easier to train and observe closely than most whale species.
They also happen to be a fairly friendly and socially involved species of cetacea. In fact, it would be challenging for scientists and marine biologists to try to train or communicate with whales because their large size makes it nearly impossible to keep them in captivity long enough to train them and gather the research necessary to make any solid conclusions.
Whales need lots of space, open saltwater, and, in some species, the ability to migrate. If whales were held in captivity, it is unlikely they would behave in the same manner making any findings inaccurate or completely bogus.
In regards to porpoises, these marine mammals tend to be less active and socially involved than their dolphin relatives; therefore, dolphins tend to make the best study cases for understanding behavior and intelligence. Since whales and dolphins share many of the same characteristics, it is possible to assume that whales and dolphins also share many of the same intellectual traits.
From researching and training dolphins, scientists and marine biologists have learned that dolphins can learn very complex tasks and can follow instructions given to them by their trainers, so it is possible that whales would be able to perform some of the same tasks as their dolphin relatives if it were possible to train them on the same level.
Dolphins are also capable of self-recognition and can identify objects placed on their body when looking at a reflective surface, a characteristic that is common among only a few intelligent animals.
While the depth of whale intelligence and thought is an educated hypothesis by understanding how dolphins think and observe whales in their natural habitat, the information we obtain can lead us closer to understanding whales’ intelligence and thought processes.
One factor that allows us to understand whale intelligence is how whales communicate. Whales are considered so intelligent that it is believed that they have developed their own complex language, which allows them to communicate a variety of different feelings and form several responses to other whales depending on the situation.
Some of the things that whales can communicate to one another include the desire to mate, spotting a nearby predator, a nearby food source, how they feel, and a host of other important things for their survival.
It is also believed that we may one day be able to communicate with whales, dolphins, and porpoises by creating technology that will allow us to understand what they are saying and respond to their questions, requests, or statements.
Whether there is a huge degree of separation in intelligence between the dolphin and whale species remains unknown. Still, there are definitely characteristics that point towards whales being an intelligent species that can think and communicate with one another at a higher level of complexity and skill than most mammals.
Whaling
Whaling is the practice of hunting cetaceans (primarily whales) for their meat, bones, and/or oil. In the past, whaling was a very lucrative business that paid whalers an excellent wage to hunt and kill these marine animals so that their parts could be used for transmission oil, cooking ingredients, corsets, tools, and candles, among other things.
As technology advanced during the 17th century and oil became an increasingly important commodity, finding whale oil became increasingly important. Since large whales could bring in tons of oil, they become the main focus for industries looking to profit from this venture. Although the practice of whaling existed since 3,000 B.C., it didn’t become as large-scale or heavily practiced until the 17th century.
As whaling became more common during the 17th century, various whale species started seeing large declines in their stocks, eventually leading several species to become extremely endangered, which forced organizations and governments to develop new rules to monitor the whaling industry and create policies to limit unnecessary whaling activities.
This practice of whaling carried on until the 20th century, when several large organizations, including the IWC, banned the practice of whaling in several countries. The creation of new policies combined with alternative resources led to huge declines in the whaling industry until whaling became illegal and banned by various countries.
Although whaling has been largely banned, there are still several countries and groups that hunt whales today. With the creation of alternative resources, whales are rarely ever hunted for their oil anymore. Today whales are hunted primarily for their meat. In some countries, whale meat may be considered a rare delicacy sold at premium prices in certain restaurants. Some whale species may be sold at supermarkets and meat farms in other countries.
For certain countries to continue hunting these marine mammals, they may use the research loophole to kill whales legally. This legal loophole states that whales may be killed for research purposes. The reason for allowing this is to give researchers a better opportunity to identify the health of a whale, learn about their reproductive status, and gather research to improve the lives of these marine mammals.
Armed with this information, some whaling groups use this to hunt whales and state that the whale’s meat is sold to restaurants and supermarkets because it is the easiest way to get rid of the meat once they’ve gathered the research they need. Anti-whaling groups believe that there is little or no research being performed and that the number of whale killings is well above what would be needed to gather research.
Aside from hunting whales for commercial reasons, a handful of groups and indigenous people continue to hunt whales for their cultural and heritage significance. These individuals do not hunt whales to sell their meat but to eat it and/or maintain a close cultural relationship with their relatives that have passed away.
Human Attacks
While whaling played a huge role in reducing the populations of whales over the centuries, when it comes to whales attacking humans, the accounts of potential attacks have been historically low. In fact, there are only a handful of killer whale attacks that have been recorded in recent history.
These attacks typically occurred when a killer whale felt threatened by a trainer and turned aggressive against him/her. In these situations, the killer whale was observed grabbing onto the trainer’s hair or limbs and pulling them underwater. While these attacks may not have been intentionally provoked, the possibility of killer whales becoming aggressive when held in captivity are a real concern to some marine biologists.
Holding a species such as the killer whale in captivity where it is away from family and the large expansive ocean may cause it to consistently be on high alert and defensive, which alone can be enough to provoke an attack.
Even though there have been several recorded attacks made by killer whales held in captivity, there was never an incident where the killer whales tried to eat or consume a human. One possible explanation for why killer whales haven’t tried to eat humans is the idea that killer whales don’t like the taste of humans and/or because we don’t resemble any food source; they identify as consumable prey.
It is tough to find any sufficient information stating consistent whale attacks on humans regarding other whale species. In fact, most whale species aren’t even capable of eating or consuming a person.
The largest whale, “the blue whale,” for instance, can grow to lengths of over 90 feet and weigh as much as 150 tons, yet its throat is about the size of a beach ball, which means the blue whale wouldn’t be able to swallow a fully grown human no matter how hard it tried to.
In addition to having a small throat, the blue whale is a baleen whale and has baleen plates instead of teeth, so it isn’t even equipped with the right tools necessary for breaking down large prey into a consumable size.
The only known species of whale that may be capable of eating or swallowing a human is the sperm whale because it has a relatively large throat compared to any other whale species. However, there haven’t been any known cases of a sperm whale eating or consuming a person, and while it may be possible that a sperm whale could swallow a human, it is doubtful.
In fact, part of why it is unlikely that a whale will attack a human is because whales are generally found living far away from most humans, and whales such as the sperm whale may dive to depths of 3,000 feet when searching for food.
To attempt to provoke a whale attack, a human would have to travel far out to sea, dive to extreme depths (unless the whale is swimming near the surface) and find a way to provoke the whale.
Many species are huge compared to the size of a human, and without the use of a boat, harpoon, or other weapons, it is unlikely that a whale will feel threatened by a much smaller human being who it perceives as non-threatening. It is also important to note that whales generally eat fish and other small aquatic species much smaller than humans.
Humans do not resemble the types of foods whales would or could consume, so whales aren’t likely to have any reason to attack a human. To sum this up, humans are too small to appear threatening, don’t resemble any consumable food sources, aren’t likely to dive deep enough to be attacked, and are too large to be consumed by almost all species of whale.