Sperm Whales

The scientific name of the sperm whale is "Physeter catodon" or "Physeter macrocephalus". The sperm whale was given its name because marine biologists noticed a white waxy secretion in its head. Initially, it was mistaken for semen; so the name sperm whale. The historical name of sperm whale is "common cachalot"; "cachalot" is a French word meaning "tooth".

Quick Facts about Sperm Whales

Here are a few quick facts about sperm whales.

Sperm whale is a mammal and follows a carnivorous diet. They love to eat giant squids. Scientists have found remnants of the giant squid in the stomach of a sperm whale. They also nourish on other species of squids and smaller ocean life.

The average size of a sperm whale is 15 to 18 meters and the average weight is 35 to 45 tons. Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales.

Did you know sperm whales can hold their breath for almost 90 minutes? Remember, sperm whales dive as deep as 3,000 feet below the ocean in search of food. The ability to hold their breath helps when they search for prey.

A sperm whale has a huge head and a round forehead. They have the largest brain compared to any animal. The brain of a sperm whale weighs 9 kgs. The heart of the sperm whale is four chambered and weighs approximately 126 kgs.

"Spermaceti" is a white wax-like substance that is stored in large quantities in the head of a sperm whale. The whalers believe that the wax-like substance helps to alter the buoyancy of a sperm whale, when it dives deep into the ocean and rises again.

Whaling of sperm whales is not allowed, as they are classified as endangered species. There are only around 200,000 sperm whales today.

The average size of an adult male sperm whale is approximately 60 feet long and weighs around 50 tons. While a fully-grown female, though smaller in size compared to the male, weighs approximately 18 tons and is 40 feet long.

Interesting Facts about Sperm Whales

The sperm whale produces a dark waxy substance in the lower intestine called as "ambergris". It protects the sperm whale from the stings of the giant squid. Sometimes, the sperm whales vomits large amount of ambergris. Ambergris is used to manufacture expensive perfumes.

The sperm whale is hunted for its ivory-like teeth by the whalers. The carvings made from these teeth are known as "scrimshaw". These artifacts are in great demand in the international market.

Sperm whale was an important character in the fiction "Moby-Dick" written by Herman Melville.

Features of a Sperm Whale

A sperm whale has a large head measuring 10 feet in height, is 20 feet long and 7 feet across. You can say the head is about one-third the body of the whale. The head has a box-like shape and has many circular scars. The scientists believe that these scars are made by the suckers of the giant squids.

The color of the skin of a sperm whale is dark gray to black. The texture of skin is rough.

The flippers of the sperm whale are 5 foot long and they are around 3 feet wide. A sperm whale has no dorsal fin, but has a small hump. Between the tail flukes and the hump, a sperm whale has a few ridges.

A sperm whale has a set of uniform teeth. The upper jaw has only sockets and no teeth. The lower jaw is long and thin, and is approximately, 16 feet long and has around 50 to 60 teeth in it. Each tooth is conical and huge; each tooth weighs around 900 grams. The teeth fit into the sockets in the upper jaw when the whale closes its mouth.

Habits of Sperm Whales

Sperm whales move in groups, known as a pod or school. The members of a pod have a long-lasting and strong bond and care for the sick and the injured whales in its group. They also protect the young ones, when the mother goes hunting for food.

A sperm whale spouts (breathes) air at the surface of the water. It has a single S-shaped blowhole located on the front left side of its head. While it is resting, the sperm whale spouts for air a couple of times per minute, while the rate increases up to 7 times per minute after a deep dive. When a sperm whale spouts, it is very noisy and the stream of water is blown out and it rises to approximately 50 feet above the surface of the water.

Did you know that sperm whales are the deepest diving whales?

A whale rests at the surface of the water with its tail hanging down. This is known as "logging". When a sperm whale floats motionlessly, part of its body and head is exposed at the surface of the water.

A sperm whale communicates or warns the members of its pod, by sticking its tail out of the water, then swinging it around and finally slapping it on the surface of the water. This action makes a loud sound and is known as "lobtailing".

Like the other whales, the sperm whale also uses "echolocation" to catch its prey; and the mother whale keeps track of its young ones using this form of vocalization.

Sperm whales are found in all the oceans of the world. Though, they live at the surface, they dive deep into the ocean to find their meal of the day.

The sperm whales swim at an average speed of 40 kphs, when they are chased. While, they are on a leisure swim, the average speed is around 15 kphs.

Sperm Whales - Reproduction

The female sperm whale matures faster than its male counterpart. The female sperm whale matures at the age of nine; while, a male sperm whale matures only at the age of eighteen. The sperm whales do not have a particular breeding season.

The gestation period of a mother sperm whale is around sixteen months. The young one of this whale is known as a calf. It is born with its tail first, near the surface of the water. The newborn calf is 13 feet long, weighs about 1 ton and is able to swim within 30 minutes of its birth. The calf is weaned for almost two years and it drinks 20 kgs of milk a day.

The average interval between two births is 3 to 4 years. In a lifetime, a female sperm whale gives birth to around seven to ten calves. The life expectancy of a female sperm whale is forty years and that of a male is around seventy years.