The Amazing Sperm Whale Written by: Michael White Table of Contents Table of Contents……………………………………………………… 2 Introduction……………………………………………………………… 3 Locomotion………………………………………………………………. 4 Endangerment………………………………………………………….. 5 Reproduction………………………………………………………….... 6 Body…………………………………………………………………………. 7 Habitat……………………………………………………………………… 8 Glossary……………………………………………………………………. 9 2 Sperm Whales are amazing sea creatures. Reaching at 23 miles per hour, a sperm whale can go down into the ocean for food. Sperm whales love squid and skates. Researchers have found 3 sperm Whales eating a mega mouth shark. All Sperm whales are found all over the world. A Whale Wonder The only reason researchers have found about giant squid is because they look in the Sperm Whales stomach A Giant squid 3 Locomotion The sperm whales usually dive 400 meters and 30-­‐45 minutes diving deep can cause problems for sperm whales. Sperm whales can adapt by having a flexible ribcage it can also decrease its heart rate and blood pressure. A Whale Wonder Sperm Whales can dive over 11 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other A pod of Sperm Whales diving for Squid. 4 Endangerment Sperm whales are currently endangered. They are hunted, not for their meat but for their oil that they store in the Spermaceti organ. The largest Sperm Whales were hunted first because they had the largest amount of oil. Still some people today hunt Sperm Whales. A Whale wonder Over a million sperm whales were killed in the whaling era. Graph of how many Sperm Whales caught. 5 Reproduction The female Sperm Whales give birth to a calf every 1 or 2 years. The calf is usually 4 meters long and weighs 1 ton. After 4 years the calf Sperm Whale goes to nursery school for 16 years. After the super long 16 years, the male Sperm Whale goes to bachelor school. The Sperm Whales eventually separate into smaller groups, till they are in a group of one. The female Sperm Whales are very social and protect each other by living in pods of about 12 Sperm A pod helping a hurt Sperm Whale.
Whales. A Whale Wonder Sperm Whales can dive over 11 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other 6 Body Male Sperm Whales grow up to 70 feet, that’s 21336 millimeters. Female Sperm Whales are usually weigh 18 tons and grow up to 40 feet. Sperm Whales have sharp teeth. They are called odontocetes. The largest toothed whale: Sperm Whale. The color of the sperm whale is usually the same grayish\blackish. But some small Sperm Whales are the color of white. Sperm Whales have huge flukes that go up and down. When Sperm Whales want to dive they jump out of the The flunk of a Sperm Whale. ocean and dive back down with their flunk going up and down. A diagram of the Sperm Whale. A Whale Wonder Male sperm whales can weigh 50 tons. 7 Habitat Sperm Whales live all over the world that is not covered by ice. Sperm Whales prefer warm water but can live in cold tempters. There are not very many Sperm Whales in the Gulf of Mexico because of all the hunting. A Whale Wonder The sperm whale are believed to be the largest tooth Sperm Whales may live in This is a map of where Sperm Whales live. water that is below zero. They can live anywhere. 8 Glossary Flukes: either half of the triangular tail of a whale. Gulf of Mexico: a state in central Mexico. Habitat: the place where a person of living thing is usually found. Locomotion: the act of power of moving from place to place. Rib cage: The enclosure formed by the ribs and their connecting bones. Skate: any large ray of the family Rajidae, of temperate and tropical seas, having flat pectoral fins continuous with the head, two dorsal fins, a short spineless tail, and a long snout. Social: pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship of relations. Spermaceti: a pearly white, waxy, translucent soled, obtained from the oil in the head of the sperm whale: used chiefly in cosmetics and candles, and as an emollient. 9