There are no freshwater whales. The large Baleen and Toothed whales would die in freshwater for no other reason than insufficient food. They gather much more food from the ocean than they ever could from rivers and estuaries. But, there are a number of Dolphins that do live in freshwater.

In the tropical Indo-Pacific there are freshwater, estuarine and coastal species. These include the blind river dolphins, the Indus and Ganges susus of India and Pakistan, and the baiji of the Yangtze River in China. Other moderately similar forms exist in the rivers, estuaries and coastal waters of eastern South America. These include the boto or boutu, a river dolphin of the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and the franciscana, a river dolphin of the La Plata estuary which has extended its range along the coast southwards into the cooler waters of Argentina.

Yes, but not in recent times!

• Suborder Archaeoceti - EXTINCT
• Suborder Odontoceti
  • Superfamily Platanistoidea
    • Family Acrodelphidae - EXTINCT
  • Superfamily Delphinoidea
    • Family Kentriodontidae - EXTINCT
    • Family Albireonidae - EXTINCT

Whales swim at different speeds depending on what they are doing. They swim faster when they are in danger than when they are not. They swim faster at the surface than in a deep dive and they swim pretty fast when they leap out of the water.

Dolphins moving through the water alongside a boat have attained speeds of 39km/hour (21 knots) over short distances. Migrating whales have been recorded travelling distances of over 3,700km (2,000 nautical miles) at an average continuous speed of 17km/hour (9 knots). These speeds are probably unusual, and prolonged cruising speeds are probably between 9 & 17km/hour (5-9 knots) for dolphins and between 4 & 30km/hour (2-16 knots) for the fast moving rorquals.

A Sperm whale's head has a huge cavity called the spermaceti organ. It holds over 100 litres of a waxy substance which changes density when its temperature changes. By drawing water in through its blowhole and nasal passages the Sperm whale can alter the temperature of the wax. The colder the wax the denser it becomes making the whale less buoyant so that it can sink.

To rise to the surface again the whale simply blows the water out of its nasal passages, causing the wax to warm up and become less dense. The buoyant whale then floats to the surface without even having to swim.

Although male Sperm whales often have large scars on their bodies the scars are usually the result of battles with other adult males and not the result of life-and-death struggles with monstrous squid. Some whales have been seen with large sucker-shaped scars around their heads and these may well have been caused by large squid which the whale was attempting to eat. The largest recorded squid eaten by a Sperm whale was 19.5m long (longer than most Sperm whales) and must have put up a fierce fight to resist being swallowed up whole. Most squid eaten by Sperm whales are, however, much smaller and weigh less than 7kgs.

Moby Dick was a great white Sperm whale in the famous novel called "Moby Dick', written by Herman Melville in the 19th century. In the story, Moby Dick was chased across the ocean by the bitter captain of a whaling boat who was seeking revenge for the loss of his leg. The book ended sadly with a 3 day fight between Moby Dick and the hunters. In the end only one man survived the battle.

Different species of whales dive to different depths, but one of the deepest divers is the Sperm whale which can dive more than 1km and even 3kms in search of food. The beaked whales are also good divers. Some are able to dive to at least 1km. Most of the smaller whales and dolphins don't dive this deep, although Bottlenose dolphins are quite capable of diving down to a depth of almost 500 metres.

Another name for the Humpback whale is the "Hump-backed "whale. It's name being derived from the pronounced hump it has on it's back in front of it's dorsal fin. Another reason is the way the whale arches or 'humps' it's back when diving. The dorsal fin is the triangular fin which stands upright out of the water when a whale swims just below the ocean surface. Much like the shark fin you see in the movies and on television.

The Humpback whale is one of the most energetic of the "Rorquals". The biggest of the Rorqual family is the Blue whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on earth. The Humpback whale is well known for it's spectacular breeching, lobtailing and flipper slapping. It is easily recognised by it's unique flukes (tail fins), knobbly head and long flippers. However, no two Humpback whales are exactly alike; the black and white pigmentation on the underside of their flukes is as unique as a human fingerprint.

"For an average size Blue whale a dog could run along some of its blood vessels, it weighs about as much as 6,000 small children and you could park a car in its mouth." (according to 'Whales and Dolphins' by Eva Plaganyi, 1994)

Most texts are only guesses since Blue whales vary in size depending on their age. Also, since the Blue whale is a 'rorqual' it has throat grooves and these are used much the same way that a pelican uses its pouch when feeding. The grooves fold out so that the mouth can hold more water and therefore more food.

For a Blue whale resting. 1 car in mouth = 3 telephone booths. Head = 1/4 body.
Total = 3 X 4 or 12 booths.

For a Blue whale feeding. 5 cars in mouth = 15 booths. Head = 1/2 body.
Total = 15 X 2 or 30 booths.

According to the Guiness Book of Records, the female Blue whale is the largest and heaviest animal in the world. The tongue and heart of the largest Blue whale ever recorded (1947) weighed 4.22tons 4.29tonnes and 1540lbs 698.5 kgms respectively.

The most important product of modern commercial whaling was oil. The oil rendered from the blubber of baleen whales was used to produce soap, margarine and other foodstuffs. From Sperm whales the collection of a waxy substance called 'spermaceti' was first used for lamp oil and then for specialised lubricants in the cosmetic, textile and leather industries, and in the making of pencils, crayons and candles. Meat from Sperm whales was used only for animal feed whilst from baleen whales it was used for human consumption. By 1950 meal for animal foodstuffs and chemical products became increasingly important. During post-war famine in Japan baleen whale meat became even more highly valued for human consumption. During the late 1970's whale catches in the Antarctic were yielding 30% meat, 20% oil and 7% meal and solubles. (Alan 1980)

In recent years many suitable alternatives have been found for most of these products. Notably among these is the oil extracted from the seeds of the jojaba shrub (Simmondsia chinensis), a plant from the arid regions of the United States and elsewhere in the world. This oil has been found to be an excellent lubricant and is able to replace Sperm whale oil for most purposes.

In the Western world whale oil has largely been replaced by vegetable and fish oils, while meat for animal feed has been replaced by fishmeals.

Ambergris is waxy and moist when fresh, dry and brittle when old. The color varies from dull gray through brown to almost black, or may be mottled throughout in alternate bands of light and dark color. There is a characteristic somewhat pleasant earthy odor, intensifed by warming in the hand. It floats, even in fresh water. When slowly heated, it commences to soften at about 140 F, and melts between 145 and 150 F to a dark oily liquid. Test it by inserting a heated wire into it: it will melt around the wire forming a dark, opaque liquid. Touched with the finger when partially melted, it is tacky, it adheres and strings. If the wire to which it adheres is re-heated over a flame, it soon emits a white fume with a characteristic odor, and then burns with a luminous flame. It is very soluble in absolute alcohol, in ether, in fat, or in volatile oils. It may contain squid beaks.

• 1. Floats in water,
• 2. Dissolves in pure alcohol,
• 3. Melts if a needle heated in fire is inserted,
• 4. Forms a fine thread when the needle is removed,
• 5. It burns if the needle is put in a small fire,
• 6. The inside usually has layered structure,
• 7. The color is usually dark brown to pale brown, and
• 8. It has strong smell, which reminds you of sperm whale faeces.

A new method for the separation and identification of ambrein in ambergris using adsorption chromatography and H-1 and C-13 Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (FT-NMR) is presented. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method by analyzing an approximately 85-year-old sample of suspected ambergris from the New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford, MA). Results prove that ambrein remains a major constituent of ambergris even after 85 years of storage under ordinary conditions.

Whales can only breath through their blowholes.

Blowholes are the external opening to a whale's nasal passages, rather like our nostrils. In baleen whales, there are two blowholes side by side; in toothed whales, there is just one. Blowholes are situated on or near the top of the head; their exact shape and location vary according to the species. Strong muscles close the blowholes before the animal dives underwater.

Whales are unable to breathe through their mouths, as the trachea and oesophagus are completely separate.

Most Blue whales live in the Southern Hemisphere while smaller populations inhabit the North Atlantic and North Pacific. They migrate long distances between low latitude winter mating grounds and high latitude summer feeding grounds and are often seen in parts of California, Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada and the northern Indian Ocean.

Unlike most other mammals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises do not have thick coats of hair to keep them warm. Instead, they have a layer of insulating fat, known as blubber; this can be as thick as 50cm (20in) in some species.

Some whales dive to great depths and in doing so are subjected to enormous pressure. To accomplish this, without getting the "bends", the whale has developed a number of ways to protect itself from being injured. The whale is a breath-hold diver, taking down only the air contained in its lungs and respiratory passages, so there is little nitrogen to dissolve in the blood and tissues which would give it the bends.

The lungs of whales are not significantly larger than those in land mammals and lung volume is small. Surprisingly, the better diving whales have relatevly small lungs. Clearly, lung capacity does not explain how whales store sufficient oxygen to hold their breath for hours or even minutes. The whale has a modified circulatory system which increases the amount of oxygen the blood can carry. This does not account for the total oxygen need in a dive and other mechanisms operate during diving. These include "diving bradycardia", restricted blood flow to non essential organs and an increased tolerance to lactic acid and carbon dioxide.

The "Lesser Beaked Whale" is the smallest 'Mesoplodon' species. It is only known from 13 specimens and a handful of possible sightings at sea. Scientists have only been aware of its existence since 1976, when part of a mysterious skull was discovered at a fish market, in San Andres, Peru. The first complete specimen was found at another fish market, just south of Lima, Peru, in 1985. It was not until November 1988 that a fully adult male was found on a deserted beach north of Lima. The new species was officially named in 1991, after the country in which it was found.

Species: "Mesoplodon peruvianus".

The earliest known species of cetacean lived 50 million years ago during the Eocene period. Its name was Pakicetus inachus. Its fossil remains were found in Pakistan.

The earliest odontocetes (toothed whales) were the Agorophiidea a group of short-beaked whales with triangular shark-like teeth. These gave rise to the squalodonts, some of which may have resembled our present-day Killer whales in behaviour, though not in looks. Most were relatively large animals with bodies 3m or more in length. They were most abundant in the late Oligocene and early Miocene periods. Among the odontocetes, the Sperm whales (family Pyhseteridae) are one of the most ancient of living families, fossils found in early Miocene deposits indicate that the earliest Sperm whales lived 23 million years ago.

The mysticetes (baleen or whalebone whales) are generally thought to have evolved from a toothed ancestor (perhaps represented by the extinct family Aetiocetidea) during the Oligocene period. The living mysticetes comprise four families. The oldest of these is the family Balaenidae (right whales) being found in the late Miocene period. There are three living balaenid representatives, the Arctic Bowhead and the northern and southern Right whales.

----------------65 million years
Paleocene
----------------55 million years
Eocene
----------------38 million years
Oligocene
----------------25 million years
Miocene
-----------------5 million years
Pliocene
-----------------2 million years
Pleistocene
-----------------recent

Cetaceans have largely lost the sense of airborne smell that exists in most mammals, as they have little (Baleen whales) or very little (Toothed whales) olfactory receptors. They may have lost this sense when the nostrils disappeared from the front or the beak to the top of the head. The nostril or "blowhole" is for the most part closed except when the animal breathes at the surface. This exchange of air is very rapid and "air smelling' must be of limited use. Baleen whales may still be able to 'sniff the winds' in search of plankton-rich waters.

There is no indication that whales have any mechanism for waterborne smelling as has developed in sharks. This would have required a completely new olfactory system for smelling in animals.

Whales have to be conscious to breath. This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. They have "solved" that by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. This has been determined by doing EEG studies on dolphins. They sleep about 8 hours a day in this fashion. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, usually associated with dreaming has been recorded only very rarely. Some scientists claim they do not have REM sleep at all.

The mammalian diving reflex in cold water allows survival after long periods of submersion. The diving reflex, first identified in seagoing mammals, slows the heartbeat and constricts the peripheral arteries, shunting oxygenated blood away from the extremities and the gut to the heart and brain. In cold water, the O2 needs of the tissues are reduced, extending the possible time of survival.

The Bottlenose whales and Sperm whales can stay underwater for almost 2 hours on long dives. Most of the large whales, like the Blue and the Fin whales, rarely stay down longer than 40 minutes while large dolphins such as the Bottlenose dolphin usually stay down for less than 15 minutes. The smaller Common dolphin dives for less than 3 minutes.

The longest recorded dive by a whale (Guinness Book of Records) was that of a Sperm Whale. On 25th August 1969 a bull Sperm Whale surfaced from a dive lasting 1 hour 52 minutes.

According to the Guinness Book of Records a female Blue whale taken on 20th March 1947 had a heart that weighed 1540lbs (698.5kg)

"For an average size Blue whale a dog could run along some of its blood vessels, it weighs about as much as 6,000 small children and you could park a car in its mouth." (according to 'Whales and Dolphins' by Eva Plaganyi, 1994)

The limited information available suggests that mortality rates are low and that cetaceans are usually long-lived. Among odontocetes, smaller species have shorter life spans.

Narwhal distribution is circumpolar, mainly in High Arctic, often amongst pack ice and generally more offshore than the white whale. Population size best known for High Arctic (Canada and West Greenland) where estimate is 10,000-30,000; total is unknown, but probably somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000. Resident mainly in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Greenland Sea. (Whales & Dolphins P.G.H. Evans 1987)

Keiko turned 15 years old in 1997. He lived in Mexico for about 10-11 years in an amusement park before being purchased and transported to the USA.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is the recognised world organisation in charge of whales. It presides over all the High Seas except for the Economic Exclusion Zones (EEZ's) of all the countries claiming them. It was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was signed in Washington D.C. on 2nd December 1946. The purpose of the Convention is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.

Because of uncertainties in the scientific analysis and therefore the precise status of the various whale stocks, the IWC decided at its meeting in 1982 that there should be a pause in commercial whaling on all stocks from the 1985/86 season - an indefinate moratorium (not a perminent one).

In May 1993, the IWC passed a resolution endorsing in principle a Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Sanctuaries for whales are not a new concept for the IWC. It is explicitly authorised to "designate sanctuary areas". In 1937 whaling was prohibited within a vast area of the Pacific (south of 40degs.S) known as The Sanctuary. After only a decade it was abandoned. In 1979, the IWC declared the Indian Ocean (north of 55degs.S) a sanctuary for whales. Initially temporary, it was made perminant in 1992.

The Southern Ocean Sanctuary was finally adopted during the IWC meeting in Mexico, 1994. This was the single greatest accomplishment of the meeting and indeed of the previous 10 years. The sanctuary being the largest protected area for whales in the world and contiguous with the existing Indian Ocean Sanctuary. The sanctuary prohibits the killing of all baleen and toothed whales irrespective of its conservation status.

Over many years the great whales were hunter to near extinction and as each species declined they were placed on the "Endangered Species List".

• 1935 ENDANGERED
  • Right Whale
  • Bowhead Whale
  • Grey Whale
• 1966 ENDANGERED
  • Humpback Whale
• 1967 ENDANGERED
  • Blue Whale
• 1985 ENDANGERED
  • Sperm Whale
• 1986 ENDANGERED
  • Sei Whale
  • Fin Whale
  • Bryde's Whale
  • Minke Whale

Only two countries officially kill the large whales today, those being Norway and Japan. Both carry-on whaling through loop-holes in the rules of the IWC. Loop-holes which are rules that are mis-read or mis-interpreted deliberately in order to continue whale killing in some way. There are some countries involved in killing whales through their claim of "Aboriginal Whaling" or "Subsistance Whaling". They are:

• Canada:
  • Kills 2,600 Beluga every year out of total population of 55,000.
  • The IWC has recommended total protection for Beluga.
  • The IWC has been ignored. Canada resigned from the IWC.
• Alaska:
  • Kills 1,000 Beluga.
  • Kills Bowhead whales every year. Total population less than 2000 animals.
  • Killing by the Inuit protected as "subsistance hunting."
• Greenland:
  • Kills 1,500 Beluga every year.
• Iceland:
  • Plans to kill 200 Fin whales.
  • Plans to kill 3,500 Pilot whales.
• Denmark:
  • Kills 3500 pilot whales every year.
• Chile:
  • Considering resumption of full scale commercial whaling.
• Peru:
  • Considering resumption of full scale commercial whaling.
• Korea:
  • Considering resumption of full scale commercial whaling.

Like most things anything done to excess is not good. Some countries have or are putting in place rules for whale watching. Also, at the last meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) whale watching was put on the agenda and preliminary discussions were held. The Commission has asked for countries with rules in place to submit them so that a universal set of rules can be made.

Most of the rules so far are basic 'common sense' like "Don't get in the whales path." and "Only a small number (about 3) of boats to approach at one time."

The only forseable problem is that as watching becomes more popular more boats will go out and more mishaps will occur. Many tours are centered around breeding grounds and a group of boats may interfere with mating and that could be dangerous for the boats as courting can become very vigorous. Fights can also break out between males.

As far as the whales are concerned we are interesting to them and more times than not a whale will approach a stationary boat for a closer look.

The organization I am involved with is 'Whales in Danger' and that's me! I started a telephone information service on the 0055 network here in Sydney, Ausrtalia. It costs 70c per minute to listen to pre-recorded messages of news about whales and whale stories. There is about 50 minutes of audio on it at present. It's menu driven so people can listen to individual items. I have been doing it on my own. Writing the scripts, announcing, recording, editing, mixing and everything.

The service has lapsed a little recently since I started learning about the internet, the WWW and HTML. The new whale internet site runs much faster than the telephone service and it reaches more people.

One day I'll find someone to give me a hand with one and/or both of these projects but until then both suffer because I have a full time job as well.

My aim is to inform and educate people about whales because out-of-sight is often out-of-mind and whales have been out-of-sight for far too long.