The hunting patterns and techniques of whales vary and depend on the species. The diet of can also be very different between certain whale species. For example, Killer Whales eat fish, seals, walruses, squid, birds, penguins, shark, polar bears and even other whales! They will hunt anything and everything that is available. They often work in pairs while hunting, surrounding and then pulling their prey down into the water, drowning them. Whatever the number of Killer whales in a pod, they will distribute the meal equally. Humpback whales, work in a large group while hunting and have a very elaborate technique called bubble net feeding. This involves the pod of whales circling a school of fish quickly while blowing bubbles. The fish the are too worried to cross the bubbles which traps them inside this ring which can measure in 100ft in diameter! The whales gradually make the ring of bubble smaller and quickly, the humpback whale surprise the fish and eat them. Blue Whales simply take large intakes of water where Krill (tiny fish) are located. These are just three of the several hunting patterns that different species of whales have developed and perfected for them to survive.

                     

                         

Some interesting fact about whales:
1. Whale can only last approximately 15 minutes underwater, before they need to resurface for air.
2. Blubber (whale fat) is usually around 30cm thick!
3. Killer whales or Orcas, are actually part of the dolphin family.
4. The rarest species of whale is the Spade - Toothed Beaked Whale. Scientists know have have seen very little of this particular species of whale.
5. There are over 80 species of whale around the world.
6. Whales only give birth to one calf at a time.
7. Whales breath through blowholes on their backs, not through their mouths.
8. Sperm whales can hold their breath for up to an hour, as they hunt much deeper in the ocean than other species of whale.
9. The long spiralled 'horn' on a Narwhals head is actually a tooth.
10. A Blue Whale's call can travel almost a 100 miles underwater.

Whales commit to one of the largest migrations in the animal world, travelling from one of the end of the Earth to another. They cover vast waters on a bi-annual basis for several different reasons: Food supply, water temperature, breeding, birth and climate change has altered the way whales migrate. The Humpback species of whale, take one of the biggest migrations of all the types of whales. A pod of Humpback whale s is usually made up of approximately 10 whales. For breeding and giving birth, a pod of Humpbackwhales will migrate to warm, tropical waters in the winter nearby to the Equator. The reason for this is because for the remainder of the year, Humpback whales live in either the Arctic or Antarctic where the winters are harsh and vast amounts of the water freezes over. One of the routes a certain group of humpback whales take is from Antarctica to Hervey Bay, the Great Barrier Reef and other waters off Australia and Fiji. The distance between these two locations is approximately 2,500km. which the whales do twice a year. The picture above shows this route and also other migration routes different pods of Humpback whales take:

Whaling has been a problem in Japan for almost a thousand years but is has only been in recent years that there has been such uproar and controversy over it. The Japanese government have always said that it is for scientific research but really the different oils and body parts of different whales have been used to make lamp oil, soaps and cosmetics such as lipsticks. Japanese whaling has caused the death of several thousand whales, in particular Mink Whales and Antarctic Minke Whales. Technically, whaling is illegal in Japan but a loophole is used by whalers, by using the excuse that it is for 'scientific research'. However, it is assumed the Japanese government do nothing to try stop this. It is mainly the International Whaling Commission that tries to stop this controversial act. Whaling was traditionally done with nets and harpoons but in the last century it has become much easier to do with large steam boats and trawlers. Traditionally, whale meat is a huge part of the Japanese food, culture and diet which is used as an argument in support of whaling. "No one has the right to criticize the food culture of another people," said Matayuki Komatsu of Japan's Fisheries Agency." However, large protests against whaling constantly take place in Japan as well as countries such as Iceland and Norway.

Blue whales hold some of the most interesting records of the natural world. As a general species, they are one of the longest living, largest and most intelligent animals on Earth. The longest living whale is the Bowhead whale. They have been known to live for 230 years! Other whales such as the Blue whale and Finn whale come second with an average of 80 - 90 year lifespan. The average lifespan for other whale species is approximately 60 - 70 years. Like humans, marine biologists can tell the age of a whale by looking at their teeth where rings form that show the age. However only this can be done on toothed whales. Whales that do not have teeth are called baleen whales. The age of these types of whales can be checked in a similar way by looking at rings formed inside a whale's earplug. Naturally, whales do live for a very long time but poaching and captivity cuts their lifespan short. A Killer whale normally lives to around 65 years of age in the wild, but in captivity they usually only live to the ages between 25 and 35. Whaling, the hunting/poaching of whales, has become a huge problem for all types of whale species all over the world. Countries that are most common for whaling are Norway, Iceland and in particular Japan who have killed several thousand Mink whales over the past few decades.

Hi, my name is Eva and this my blog about whales. I have always loved whales and that is why I am going to write about different species of whales and where they are located around the globe. I will also talk about where each species migrates to and from, characteristics, poaching, and other facts all about them! Whales are some of the most intelligent and sociable animals on Earth and really are such graceful and majestic mammals. This is why I find them so interesting to write about. I hope you enjoy my blog!