Sperm Whale

A sperm whales Latin name is Physeter Macrocephalus. Sperm whales live in all oceans. One source says the sperm whales population is estimated at 2,000,000. Sperm whales mate in tropical waters. They tend to inhabit areas with a water depth of 600 meters or more.

Sperm whales have square heads. They are the color of light brown to blue gray. Sperm whales have one foot of blubber. Sperm whales have the largest brains of any animal.

Male sperm whales can be up to 60 feet long. A female sperm whale can be 40 feet. A sperm whales head is a third of its body. Calves can weigh one ton when they are born. Male sperm whales can weigh 60 tons. Females can weigh 14 tons.

Sperm whales are toothed whales. Sperm whales only have teeth on the lower jaw. One sperm whale tooth weighs a half a pound.

Sperm whales sometimes eat giant squid. They also eat small squid, octopus and sharks.

Sperm whales can dive up to a half a mile deep. They can stay underwater for an hour and a half.

Sperm whales blowhole is shaped like an S. It is smaller on the right side. The sperm whale spouts up to 50 or 60 times in 15 seconds. A spout can go up sixteen feet.

A sperm whale can have a lifespan of 80 years. During the past 200 years, whalers killed about 1,000,000 sperm whales. Sperm whales have been hunted longer than most whales. Only the humpback and the right whale have been hunted longer.

by Ben, Eli, Farrar, Wesley

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