Cetaceans spend their entire lives in water. Today there are about 75 different species of cetaceans inhabiting all the oceans of the world from the cold Antartic Continent in the south to the Artic Sea around the North Pole. Whales and dolphins are among the most intelligent and mysterious creatures on our earth.

Baleen whales (Mysticeti) or mustached whales are filter feeders that have baleen. Baleen is a sieve-like device used for filter feeding krill, copepods, plankton, and small fish. They are the largest whales and have 2 blowholes. They include:

Bowhead whale	Fin whale
Grey whale	Blue whale

 Humpback whale

Toothed Whales

Toothed whales (Odontoceti) are preditors with peg-like teeth. They chase after their food and eat fish, squid, and other marine mammals. They have one blowhole. They include:

Killer whale	Narwhal
Beluga	Dolphin

Sperm whale

Which cetacean group interests you the most?

Here is some more information about whales and dolphins from a report made by a girl named Shannon.

Whales

Whales are very large animals. They can grow up to 100 ft. or more in length. They can weigh up to 200 tons or more. Whales live in families called pods. These pods vary in numbers and consist of family members and family friends. Whales live in these families their whole life. Group living is safer when other whales or sharks attack. It also makes it easier to find food. Whales are always migrating. They travel to find food, breed and have young.

Whales do not have eyelids. They rely on thick oily tears to protect their eyes. Whales hear from little holes behind their eyes.

Whales talk to each other by making high pitched sounds like whistles, clicks, squeaks, rattles, and groans.

To help protect the whales from extinction please DO NOT throw nets, fishing lures, or other fishing gear in the ocean.

Dolphins

Dolphins live with the whales in the oceans. But dolphins come much closer to the shore. They will come as close to the shore as you or I can walk without going under water.

Dolphins have teeth.

Looking at a dolphin you would not think it has a nose, but surprise...it does! They have nostrils called blowholes. Over millions of years of evoloution whales and dolphins nostrils moved to the top of their head. This allows them to breath by surfacing instead of them sticking their whole head out of the water.

The first thing a newborn dolphin must do is to go to the surface to breathe. But the baby can not swim so its mother and another dolphin will help push the baby to the surface for its first breath of air. The baby will be able to swim in about 30 minutes.

Dolphins are fast swimmers. When a speeding boat passes the bottlenose dolphin, it will start to race out in front . They will take off hitting the water and keep going.

Dolphins navigate by following the hills and mountains of the ocean floor, by tracking the sun, by sensing currents, and by tasting the water along the journey.

A dolphin's sound probably originated in its nasal passages. These nasal passages are located on the top of the head. Dolphins can make sounds to see what lies ahead. This sense is called echolocations. The dolphins' sound waves hit an object and the echo bounces back. Echolocation sounds are called sprays. Sprays are so strong they can stun another whale. Dolphins don't "point" their melons at any other sealife except their enemies

Whale Facts...Did you know