The blue whale (blue whale, or blue whale) is the largest animal on the planet. Since the blue whale breathes with lungs and feeds its children with milk, it is a mammal, not a fish. There are only three species - pygmy, northern and southern blue whales, which differ slightly from each other.

Blue whale anatomy

The blue whale, like all mammals, breathes exclusively with lungs. Of the senses, blue whales have very developed hearing and touch. The blue whale, which is the largest living creature on planet Earth, has the same striking dimensions of internal organs - for example, one tongue of an adult can weigh more than 4 tons! The pulse of whales is very low - 5-10 beats per minute, and the heart weighs a whole ton! This is an absolute record among all living beings. In length, the whale can reach up to 33 meters, and the weight of an adult is approximately 150 tons! In blue whales, females are larger than males.

Style: Blue whale

Genus: Stripes

Family: Striped

Class: Mammals

Order: Cetaceans

Type: Chordates

Kingdom: Animals

Domain: Eukaryotes

Blue whales have a very large head and a long, slender body. On the back of the head is a blowhole, which is formed by the two nostrils of the animal. On the lower part of the head of the blue whale there are stripes that form from the folds of the skin. They help the whale stretch its pharynx when it opens its mouth to take in food. At this point, the whale's mouth can stretch 1.5 times! In total, blue whales can have from 55 to 90 such folds.

Where does the blue whale live?

The blue whale is cosmopolitan. This means that its habitat extends to the entire world ocean, but somewhere, due to cold currents, the whale cannot be all year round and migrates, and somewhere it is quite comfortable all the time - for example, in the Indian Ocean. Most often they are seen in Ceylon. A large number of people are sure that there is no better place to watch blue whales than in Sri Lanka.

What does the blue whale eat?

The blue whale's favorite food is krill (large aggregations of crustaceans) and plankton. The whale does not eat fish at all, even if it accidentally absorbs it, it is exclusively along with a large amount of plankton and krill. He eats simply by opening his huge mouth and swimming forward, collecting water with food, and then the water flows out through the whalebone.

Blue whale lifestyle

Unlike other whale species, the blue whale can be called a loner. Sometimes some individuals form small groups, but usually they stay alone. The blue whale prefers to lead a daytime lifestyle - this is evidenced by numerous studies.

Blue whale breeding

Reproduction is a sore subject for the blue whale. It reproduces extremely slowly, so slowly that some scientists tend to think that the increase in the birth rate of blue whales is not able to cover their mortality. The growth of blue whales is the slowest of all whales. The blue whale is monogamous. The male, having found his female, protects her and never moves away from her. The female can become pregnant once every two years, after which she bears a cub for another year.

The cub is born weighing about 2 - 3 tons and 6-9 meters long. It feeds on mother's milk for about 7 months. Sexual maturity is reached at about 10 years of age. At the age of 15, the blue whale is already fully formed physically and is gaining its weight and body length. Whales live for quite a long time - about 90 years.

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The blue whale is an animal representative of the class of mammals, which belong to the order "Cetaceans" and adjoined the family "Pinidae".

The largest whale was slaughtered by whalers in 1947, its mass was more than 190 tons, and its length was more than 35 meters.

I would like to highlight four main subspecies of these giant mammals:

• Southern;
• Northern;
• Dwarf:
• Indian

The northern and southern subspecies prefer to stay in cold waters, while the dwarf subspecies lives in tropical waters. In general, in all these species, the way of life is no different.

The mass of the blue whale is highly dependent on the age of the animal, the average weight of a mammal is 142 tons, and the length of the whale is 24 meters. The animal has a slender muscular body. The shape of the head is simply huge, if you take the entire body of a giant, then it occupies more than 27% of the total mass.

The color of the giant is gray-blue. The head and lower part of the animal is dark in color, the back is slightly lighter, and the sides and belly are even lighter. Its body is covered with numerous gray spots that have different diameters and shapes. If you look closely, the skin of a whale resembles a marble slab in color.

The nose has a pointed shape, if you look at the snout from above, you can see that it has an oval shape. The lower jaw is straightened and curved in different directions. On the snout there are about 20 hairs that are responsible for touch. The eyes of the animal are modest in size and are located close to the corner of the mouth.

The whale's blowhole is located at the end of the head and consists of two nostrils. Thanks to him, he is able to produce a vertical fountain 10 meters high. The fountain has a conical shape expanding upwards.

The big blue whale has a modest dorsal fin, which is located in a third of its body, that is, closer to the tail fin, moreover, it has a kind of pattern on it, it is individual for each individual. Scientists use this mark to identify the mammal. It is noteworthy that the length of the dorsal fin does not exceed one percent of the total length of the animal and has a size of no more than 35 cm.

The largest animal is the owner of the pectoral fins, which measure 1/7.2 of the total length of the animal and have an elongated and narrow shape. The tail fin of a whale is located on a thick tailed stalk, which measures from 6.45 to 7.5 m.

On the lower jaw there are numerous furrows that continue on the neck and abdomen. Their basis consists of a skin, and they perform very important functions, when an animal swallows a large amount of water with plankton, then having furrows help the mouth stretch almost 2 times. The number of bands ranges from 57 to 95.

When a huge blue whale floats to the surface, it is an indescribable feeling, shared by some of the eyewitnesses of this event. Makes, experienced incredible emotions from the size of a marine mammal. It feels like I'm standing in the station and I think that the wind of the approaching train will not drag me under the wheels.

Historical habitats extend therefore to the world's oceans, but often it tends to separate places rich in plankton and small fish. In the Indian Ocean, they are regular guests, Ceylon and the Maldives are the most preferred places where animals accumulate.

How many blue whales live in the North Atlantic is unknown. Not so long ago, the territories of these countries were fishing places:

1. Norway;
2. Faroe islands;
3. British Isles;
4. Spain;
5. Gibraltar;

Scientists are not yet able to study the winter migration of whales in the North Atlantic.

Despite the fact that the whale is the largest animal in the world, it also has the largest organs. The animal's heart weighs about 1 ton.

Sight and smell in mammals is weak, but touch and hearing are very developed. The thickness of the fat layer is 31-32 cm. The heartbeat is not frequent, from 4-6 beats per minute. The tongue of a mammal weighs more than 4 tons.

The animal leads a solitary lifestyle, only occasionally unites in small flocks, but even at this time they keep a considerable distance from each other. The accumulation of whales in large groups of 45 - 60 heads is explained by the presence of a large amount of plankton.

Blue whale photo.

The blue whale, according to experts in the field of studying this animal, is considered to be clumsy compared to other species of its counterparts. He leads a purely daytime lifestyle, and at night they stop any activity. The developed speed during migration reaches up to 35 km / h, the whale is able to overtake a sports yacht, rapidly moving forward.

For prey, it dives to a depth of 250 meters, but in a state of fright, it can dive to 500 meters. Approximate time of immersion is 15 - 20 minutes, and emerges 7 - 10 minutes, during this period the pulse quickens three times to 20 beats.

Range not exceeding 50 Hz with a frequency of 188 decibels. The maximum distance at which they can exchange information is no more than 34 km.

Food

In fairness, it must be said that the diet of striped whales is no different. The blue whale's daily diet includes:

• - crustaceans (2 species);
• - microorganisms;
• - small fish;

In a word, his whole menu called plankton is taken up by the current. In the nutria of the current, small crustaceans actively develop, subsequently turning into a huge dome of a homogeneous mass. What attracts our mammals.

The blue whale is eating.

The whale dives to a depth of 10 - 15 meters and emerges just above the cloud with its mouth wide open. Several tons of water enter his mouth along with food. Using whalebone and filtering methods, it filters the total mass, separating plankton particles from the water. Then, in a narrow 10 cm in diameter throat, food enters, and water is thrown back into the ocean.

The breeding process in blue whales is very slow. Pregnancy of the female lasts from 9 to 12 months. The baby is born under water, the body length of the newborn whale is 7 - 9 meters, and the weight is from 2 - 4 tons. Feeds on mother's fat milk up to 7 months of age. By this time, it weighs 23 tons, body length reaches 16 meters. The whale grows up to 15 - 18 years.

No one can boast of accurate data on the life of minke whales. There are at least two assumptions about the lifespan of a whale, this 50 and 110 years.

• The number of blue whales is approximately 10,000 heads.
• The first ban on vomit fishing was legalized in 1963.
• Swimming at high speed, they spend twice as much fat and energy.
• The eye of a mammal can weigh more than one kilogram.
• The length of the tongue reaches three meters.
• The length of the lower jaw is 6 meters.

Blue whale- the largest representative of the order of cetaceans and the entire class of mammals.

Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus , blue whale, blue whale) - a marine animal from the order of cetaceans, belongs to baleen whales from the minke whale genus.

The blue whale is the largest modern animal, and also probably the largest of all animals that have ever lived on Earth.

Adult lengthwhale (females are larger) can reach 24-33 meters, the weight of an adult whale is 100-120 tons,according to some reports, it can even exceed 150 tons!Weight of a newborn kitten -2-3 tons, length - 6-8 m.

The largest recorded specimen was a female killed by whalers in 1926 off the South Shetland Islands. Its length was 33.58 meters. This whale was not weighed, but it apparently weighed well over 150 tons.

There is also evidence that in 1947 a 190-ton blue whale was killed by whalers off South Georgia. Known blue whale and weighing 181 tons.

Blue whales 30 meters long have been seen repeatedly - in 1922 such a whale swam into the Panama Canal, and in 1964 a 30-meter whale weighing 135 tons was slaughtered off the Aleutian Islands by Soviet whalers.

However, in the past, determining the exact weight of blue whales was associated with significant difficulties, since whaling ships did not have equipment capable of weighing such huge carcasses. Therefore, they were weighed in parts, and the weighing technique was finally developed only by 1926.

There is also an opinion that blue whales were crushed as a result of long-term predatory fishing, and back in the 18th century, when blue whales were much more numerous, specimens up to 37 meters in length could come across among them.

Blue whales, giants over 30 meters long, are quite rare, their average size is 22.8 m for males in the Northern Hemisphere and 23.5 m for females, in the Southern Hemisphere they are usually a meter larger.

In a blue whale, the tongue weighs 3 tons, the liver - 1 ton, the heart - 600-700 kg. The total amount of blood in a blue whale is up to 10 tons, the diameter of the dorsal artery is 40 cm, and the stomach can hold up to 2 tons of food. The blue whale's mouth is a "room with a floor area" of 24 square meters. meters, and the lungs can hold up to 14 cubic meters. meters of air.

There are three subspecies of the blue whale - northern, southern and dwarf, slightly different in size and physique. Sometimes a fourth subspecies stands out - the Indian blue whale. The first two subspecies gravitate to cold circumpolar waters, and the third is found mainly in tropical seas.

The way of life of all subspecies is almost the same. Whales keep mainly alone, less often in small groups, and even in groups they swim separately. Historically, the range of the blue whale occupied the entire world's oceans, but is now severely torn apart. The lifestyle of the blue whale is still not well understood.

The life expectancy of the blue whale is very long, and comparable to the age of a person, according to various sources, the blue whale lives up to 80 and even up to 90 years, and the oldest known specimen was 110 years old!

However, according to some scientists, in well-studied herds of blue whales (in the Gulf of St. Lawrence), the life span of whales is at least 40 years.

Blue whale eating mainly large planktonic invertebrates, mainly crustaceans, mainly euphausiids, in the Antarctic - black-eyed (5-6 cm long), in the northern hemisphere - smaller crustaceans. A full stomach holds 1.5-2 tons of crustaceans.

Blue whales are pelagic animals, usually found in the open ocean and rarely come close to the shore.

A feeding whale swims slowly, remaining under water for 8-10 minutes. This is followed by 10-12 intermediate dives and shallow dives, each such dive takes 6-7 seconds, and a shallow dive takes 15-40 seconds, during which the whale manages to swim 40-50 meters under the very surface of the water. The highest dives in the series are the first (after ascending from the depth) and the last (before diving into the depth).

A "grazing" blue whale moves at a speed of 11-15 km / h, and a frightened one develops a speed of 33-40 km / h. But it can only move so fast for a few minutes.

The blue whale is distributed from the Chukchi Sea, Greenland, Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya to the Antarctic.

It is very rare in the tropical zone, wintering only in warm waters: in the Northern Hemisphere - at the latitudes of Southern Japan, Taiwan, California, Mexico, North Africa, the Caribbean Sea; in the Southern Hemisphere - at the latitudes of Australia, Peru, Ecuador, South Africa, Madagascar.

In summer, the blue whale feeds in the waters of the Antarctic, the North Atlantic, the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

Blue whales breed every 2 years in warm waters, mostly in winter.

Pregnancy lasts about 11 months, there is one cub in the litter. Females feed the cub with milk for about 7 months, and during this period the cub grows up to 16 meters, and increases its weight to 23 tons. During the day, the whale adds 80-100 kg in weight. At a year and a half, a young whale has a length of up to 20 meters and a weight of up to 45-50 tons.

Sexual maturity occurs at 4-5 years, females at this time reach a length of 23 meters. And they reach full growth and physical maturity with a body length of 26-27 m, at 14-15 years.

The physique of the blue whale is proportional, the body is well streamlined. The dorsal fin is small, its height is only 30 cm, it is set far back. The pectoral fins are narrow, pointed and somewhat shortened (1/7-1/8 body length). The width of the caudal fin with a small notch in the middle is equal to 1/4 of the body length. The head is wide, U-shaped from above, with margins convex to the side.

In areas of mass feeding, its skin, like all minke whales, is overgrown with a green film of diatoms, which disappears in temperate and warm waters.

Whalebone- these are horn platinum and fringe, pitch black. The height does not exceed 130 cm, the width is 50-60 cm, and the number of plates is from 270 to 440 in each half of the upper jaw.

The sounds made by the blue whale are infrasounds, with a frequency below 50 Hz, mainly 8 - 20 Hz, and their intensity is rarely below 60 decibels. Blue whale calls are most intense at the lowest frequencies, around 1 Hz, but such calls last no more than 18 seconds.

Infrasound signals are common for communication over long distances during migrations where whales move several kilometers apart.

Studies by American specialists off the coast of Antarctica have shown that blue whales can exchange signals at a distance of up to 33 km.

The voice of the blue whale, like other large whales, is unusually loud, and on average, the voices of blue whales can have an intensity of up to 190 decibels in the subsonic range. Note that for a person in his auditory range (from 16 to 20 thousand Hz), a sound intensity of 180 decibels is already a pain threshold! The voice of the blue whale was recorded at a distance of 200 km, there is data on the audibility of the cries of blue whales at a distance of 400 and even 1600 km!

Endangered whale...

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of blue whales began to decline rapidly due to uncontrolled fishing. Whalers were attracted by the huge size of the carcass of this animal - from one whale you could get much more fat and meat than from any other cetacean.

By the 1960s, the blue whale was practically exterminated and was on the verge of extinction - in 1963, no more than 5,000 individuals remained.

At present, despite the conservation measures taken, the blue whale is still very rare - the total number does not exceed 10,000 individuals, and new conservation measures are required to maintain its stable population. The main threat to whales is the anthropogenic factor, disruption of their habitual way of life and pollution of the seas.

The slow natural reproduction of blue whales also significantly hinders the growth of their population.

The initial number of blue whales, before the start of their intensive fishing, was estimated at 215,000. According to other sources, it could be even more, up to 350 thousand.

The first bans on blue whale fishing in the Northern Hemisphere date back to 1939, but they affected only certain areas.

The blue whale fishery was completely banned only in 1966, but the ban on fishing, however, did not immediately affect the “blue pygmy whales”, which continued to be caught even in the season until 1967.

The current population of blue whales is difficult to assess, for decades they have not been studied very actively, for example, the International Whaling Commission, since the mid-1970s, has practically not been counting the population.

In 1984, it was reported that no more than 2000 blue whales live in the Northern Hemisphere, about 10 thousand in the Southern Hemisphere, half of which are dwarf subspecies.

The growth of the blue whale population is slow, but in a number of places, for example, in areas near Iceland, the increase after the ban on fishing reached 5% per year.

American scientists who conducted a detailed study of the population of cetaceans off the Pacific coast of the United States noted that the number of blue whales in these areas during the 1980s tended to increase, however, there was no data on the growth of the population in the Pacific Ocean as a whole. There is a serious danger that the blue whale is on the verge of extinction, and that the blue whale population will never be able to recover to its original abundance.

Although the International Red Book notes that at present there is no direct threat to the blue whale population, nevertheless, long (up to 4-5 km) smooth fishing nets pose a serious danger to them, in which a significant number of marine animals die. mammals. True, fishermen claim that blue whales and fin whales easily overcome such nets, but one case of the death of a blue whale in nets still occurred in 1995.

Five blue whales have died in the Pacific Ocean from collisions with ships, and, by a strange coincidence, 4 of these 5 cases occurred in 2007. One blue whale usually dies from strikes against sea vessels per year.

Among the most well-studied group of whales living in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about 9% of animals have scars, clearly received from collisions with ships, and according to some estimates, this figure may be as high as 25%. This is due, both to the high concentration of blue whales in the area, and to the extremely heavy shipping. Off the coast of Western Canada, about 12% of blue whales have marks on their skin from various fishing gear.

Despite the strict protection of blue whales, even in the places of their greatest concentration there are no restrictions on navigation, but only recommendations to reduce the speed of ships, which are very rarely carried out by ship captains.

A significant threat to blue whales is pollution of the seas, including oil products. Analyzes conducted in the mid-1990s showed that blue whales' adipose tissue accumulates poisonous chemicals (polychlorinated biphenyls) that enter the sea. These substances, which accumulate in the body of pregnant females, are transferred to the cubs in the womb. Due to the small number of individual herds and inbreeding, genetic defects and degeneration can also play a negative role in reducing the population of blue whales.

The number of blue whales, according to studies by Swiss scientists, is also associated with violations of their migration routes. The noise background of the sea over the past few decades has increased so much that voice signals are often drowned out, the noises made by ships, as a rule, have the same frequency as the voices of whales, so it becomes increasingly difficult for whales to navigate in this chaos of sounds, to look for relatives, which, in turn, makes it difficult to find a partner for reproduction.

Particular damage is caused, according to American researchers, by low- and medium-frequency sonar systems SURTASS, US Navy warships.

A.A. Kazdym

List of used literature

Tomilin A. G. Animals of the USSR and adjacent countries. Vol. 9 (Cetaceans). M., 1957

Tomilin A. G. Cetaceans of the seas of the USSR. M., 1962.

Yablokov A.V., Belkovich V.M., Borisov V.I. Whales and dolphins. M., 1972.

Blue whale. Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

Animal Life // Ed. S. P. Naumov and A. P. Kuzyakin. Moscow: Education, 1971.

Calambokidis J., Steiger G. Blue Whales. Voyageur Press, 1998.

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2002

Estes J. Whales, Whaling, and Ocean Ecosystems. University of California, 2006

Mead, James G., Brownell, Robert L. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005

William C. Cummings, Paul O. Thompson. Acoustical Society of America. 1971

Gambell R. The blue whale. Biologist, 1979

This huge animal inspires respect for its gigantic size. On average, the weight of an adult whale is 100 - 120 tons, i.e. as much as 40 African elephants weigh.

The largest animal on earth consumes about 1 million calories a day. This is approximately 1 ton of krill, which is the main diet of the blue whale. In general, the blue whale is typical plankton eater: it feeds on crustaceans in the upper water column, plunging under water for 10-15 minutes. The crustaceans that it feeds on are concentrated in special zones, which are called feeding fields. In such places, you can meet several whales at once, although they usually do not gather in groups of more than 3 individuals.

The blue whale is found in all open seas from the Arctic to the Antarctic, but avoids coastal waters, as well as tropical latitudes, preferring cold water. The southern subspecies of the blue whale is the most frost-resistant. It feeds on fields located at the edge of the floating ice of Antarctica. The northern subspecies of the blue whale does not reach the drifting ice of the Artik.

Leading a solitary life of whales, whales have developed their own way of communication, with which they communicate with each other over vast distances up to 1600 km. These are the famous songs of whales, the volume of which reaches 188 decibels. The meaning of these songs is not fully understood, but scientists have noticed that whales "sing" during the breeding season, so it is possible that singing is somehow connected with the family functions of animals. These songs last up to half an hour. At first, it was believed that only males sang, but there is evidence that female blue whales also sing for their babies. The sound-reproducing system in animals is located in the front of the head and serves as a lens that captures and reproduces sounds. Since whales are practically blind and have no sense of smell, sound is the only means of communication with other individuals, and the only way to contact the outside world. Therefore, whales are constantly busy analyzing the surrounding sounds.

Whales are very smart animals. Their incredible intelligence and friendly nature have made whales very popular and interesting animals for science. Scientists generally believe that the brain of whales is more similar in its capabilities to the human than the brain of any other animal.

Some features of the structure of whales are very interested in physicians. So whales do not have brain hemorrhages, due to the fact that in their heart there is a special shunt that connects two large arteries, which provides reliable protection against blockage of blood vessels, and as a result, from heart attacks.

The whale eye is also of interest to scientists. Firstly, because in it the size allows you to see what cannot be seen in the eye of a person or other animal. Secondly, the blue whale can dive underwater to great depths, and the structure of its eye is such that it can withstand enormous pressures. Having learned this secret, a person will help patients with glaucoma associated with impaired intraocular pressure.

At present, there are no direct threats to the size of blue whale populations. Fishing of the animal is prohibited everywhere. The danger is represented by anthropogenic factors, disturbance of the habitual habitat and pollution of the ocean.

The blue whale is a huge mammal and the largest animal on the planet that lives in the waters of the oceans, and is also called the blue whale or vomited. Animals are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book, since they were actively exterminated by humans until the 60s of the XX century, until hunting for them was prohibited. According to rough estimates by scientists, the number of blue whales at the moment does not exceed 10 thousand individuals.

The blue whale has a slender, elongated body, its length reaches 33 m, and its weight ranges from 150 to 200 tons. To imagine such a mass, one comparison can be made - one tongue of the animal has the same weight as the entire Indian elephant. The large head occupies 27% of the entire body, its lower jaw is much wider than the upper one and embraces it from all sides. Inside the mouth there are several hundred pairs of whalebones from 90 cm to 1 m long. Small eyes are located above the very corners of the mouth. Closer to the back of the back is a pointed small dorsal fin. In fact, the color of the blue whale is gray with a bluish tinge, and the belly and fins are light, but when the animal moves into the sea, it seems that it is blue - hence the name.

The habitat of the animal occupies almost the entire oceans. Depending on the subspecies of the blue whale (and there are at least 3 of them: northern, southern and pygmy), its habitats stretch from Greenland to Antarctica.

The blue whale feeds on plankton, consisting mainly of krill - small marine crustaceans. The feeding process goes like this: it slowly swims with its mouth open, and a mass of water with various crustaceans enters it. Then the animal closes its jaws and pushes water through the whalebone with its tongue, after which it licks and swallows the plankton that has settled on its fringe. An animal is able to eat 3.5-6 tons of plankton per day.

The blue whale is a monogamous animal, having found its mate, it stays with it for a long time. Animals reach sexual maturity by about 10 years. Females give birth every two years. Mating games begin at the end of autumn and last until the beginning of spring, the female's pregnancy lasts about a year. A newborn baby weighs about 3 tons, its length is 7-8 m. The lactation period lasts about 7 months, and the milk of females is extremely rich in protein and very fatty (fat content in it varies from 37 to 50%). In one day, the cub receives up to 90 liters of mother's milk and gains an average of 44 kg in weight.

Although sometimes blue whales gather in groups of 2-3 individuals, they still show a tendency to be alone. Even in places with a large accumulation of food, where the number of whales can reach 50-60 heads, they stay in small distant groups.

Usually, for feeding, a blue whale dives to a depth of 100-200 m and swims at a speed of 5-15 km / h, but if it is very frightened, it can dive 500 m under water, and reach a maximum speed of up to 50 km / h. A grazing whale spends under water from 5 to 20 minutes, but according to scientists, a blue whale, if necessary, can not come up to the surface for up to 50 minutes.

In a calm state, the blue whale breathes 1-4 times per minute and, when exhaling, releases a fountain into the air - a jet of water about 10 m high. The animal's eyesight and smell are very poor, but hearing and touch are superbly developed.

Since the size of blue whales is huge, they have practically no natural enemies. The only animals that pose a threat to them are killer whales, which attack in packs and tear the animal apart to eat it.

Irreparable things were done to the population of blue whales by people, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, when they were fished completely uncontrollably. But even after all the prohibitions, the most threatening for the existence of the whale is a person and his life. The danger is represented by flowing nets, collisions with ships and oil pollution of the seas. In addition, recently the sea noise has grown so much that the voice signals used by the whales to find each other for the purpose of mating are drowned out and become inaudible.

In the myths of different peoples, whales are certainly mentioned. And for good reason, because these mammals appeared on Earth long before man, according to scientists, about 55 million years ago. They are the largest of all known animals that have ever existed.

There is an ancient legend according to which whales are the ancestors of man. Most likely, it is based on the fact that many millions of years ago these animals were terrestrial, walked the earth on four legs. According to one of the opinions of scientists, hippos and whales are relatives, as they have common ancestors. In search of food, pacicents (the land ancestors of whales) first went to the ocean, and when there was no food left, it was necessary to explore the depths.

Modern science allows for interesting research in the field of molecular genetics. Thus, data were obtained that cetaceans have family ties with artiodactyl animals, with hippos in particular.

The mystery and grandeur of blue whales has always attracted and will attract people to them. It is difficult to describe the feelings that arise from meeting this giant in the wild. Some say that to some extent they can be compared to a train that rushes past while you are standing on the platform of the station.

Appearance of the blue whale

The length of the blue whale is on average 30 meters, and the weight is approaching 150 tons. Unlike many other animals, female blue whales are larger than males. The largest blue whale was discovered in 1926. The female weighed 170 tons, and reached a length of 33 meters.

The body of the blue whale is slender and elongated, flat on the sides. Although it is called blue, the color of the whale is heterogeneous: the head is darker, while the sides and back are lighter. Under the jaw of a whale, there are throat folds, in quantities of 60 pieces. Whales have excellent hearing, but at the same time they do not have external ears. And they hear with the help of the lower jaw, which conducts sounds to the inner and middle ears.

From the estimated original number of blue whales, which was 250,000 individuals, today only 1% remains, and the population continues to decline year by year. It's all the fault of people and whaling, which, despite all the prohibitions, does not stop.

The big blue whale is already large in size from birth: the length of the newborn animal is about seven meters, and the weight is about two to three tons, this is the smallest blue whale. But every day of life, the whale cubs are growing rapidly, recovering by 100 kg. The mother feeds them with milk during the first 7 months of life. During this time, so much milk is released that its total volume is comparable to the weight of the female whale.

When describing the appearance of blue whales, special attention should be paid to their tails. Scientists say that each specimen has a unique shape, and it is by the tail that one can certainly distinguish one whale from another.

In order to more or less visually imagine how huge the blue whale is, here are a few comparisons:

The size of the whale's head is such that 50 people can easily fit on it;

The heart of a blue whale weighs like an average passenger car, about 700 kg;

The volume of blood that circulates through the whale's body is 8 tons;

These animals have the largest brain of all the creatures that inhabit the Earth.

On the back of the head of the blue whale is a blowhole, the so-called hole through which the animal breathes. At the same time, on exhalation, the whale releases a high jet of water through the blowhole, the height of which reaches 10 meters. Whales can stay at the bottom of the ocean without oxygen for two hours. An interesting and at the same time dangerous moment for them is connected with the peculiarities of the animal’s breathing: whales can suffocate and drown in their sleep. For this reason, they get out to rest in shallow water, and if during sleep they go down to depth, then they strike with a strong tail and rise to the surface to breathe air.

It's hard to believe, but whales can sing! At first it was thought that this ability is inherent only to males, but later it was discovered that females, communicating with their newborn children, also sing. Moreover, experiments were carried out, during which it turned out that in captivity, with long contact with people and certain training, whales learn to imitate human speech.

Blue whale lifestyle

Terrible-looking giants, in fact, are extremely good-natured creatures. They can become the prey of a flock of much smaller killer whales, and they themselves feed only on small fish (krill), and they do it for the future: it is known that whales can starve for two thirds of the year.

Blue whales spend most of their time traveling through the vast expanses of the oceans. They usually move alone, only occasionally you can meet a flock of two or three whales.

It is not known for certain, but most likely, whales are diurnal. Due to their huge size, whales do not differ in particular maneuverability and speed, in addition, they need air, so they try to stay on the surface of the water. Whales can dive, and dive deep (up to 1 km), but they do this, as a rule, when they are scared or injured by something. In order to go under water, the whales take a vertical position, while their tail, like a huge sail, rises to the surface for several seconds.

It is known that previously the habitat of these animals was very wide: they could be found in all the oceans of the world. Today, due to poaching, as well as due to environmental pollution, the number of blue whales has been greatly reduced. Most often they can be found in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, in the area of ​​the Kuril ridge, the Aleutian and Commander Islands, in the Gulf of Anadyr and the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.

Blue whales breed extremely slowly, so much so that today the birth rate is several tens of times greater than the death rate. Females carry one cub throughout the year, and the next whales can only conceive a year later, no less. But the life expectancy of blue whales is high - more than a century.

Here it is, the majestic blue whale, the size of which impressed people so much that they were sure for a long time that the whole world stands on three whales. There is a legend: when a whale swallows a man, he can safely live in his huge stomach. But these are all just inventions, and whales are absolutely not dangerous for humans, since the small size of the esophagus will not allow swallowing a person. And this is just one more proof of the good nature of the blue whale.

The world is blue. In length, this giant creature is almost 33 meters! Figuratively speaking, 30 African or Indian elephants would fit on it! If we talk about where a whale of such unusual size lives, then these are open seas and oceans around the world. However, this habitat is not only for blue, but in general for all living whales.

Lords of the Sea

So, we have learned that the seas and oceans are the places where the whale lives. But with all this, remember that whales are not fish! They breathe with lungs, like all mammals, and not with gills, like fish. That is why it is extremely necessary for them to rise to the surface of the water from time to time to take a breath. This procedure is accompanied by an extraordinary fountain above sea level. But have whales always lived in water? Of course not! It is interesting that several million years ago the ancestors of the current cetaceans lived on land, and unlike their descendants, they first moved to shallow water, hiding there from their enemies and at the same time hunting for small animals, and after a while they completely went to sea. At the same time, the hair completely disappeared from their body, and the front paws turned into fins. The tail took the form necessary for comfortable swimming - not vertical, like in fish, but horizontal.

So, where the whale lives, we found out. "Float" further!

From the life of whales

Depending on their zoological status, they can feed on fish, squid, small crustaceans and plankton. The stomach of these animals holds two to three tons of food. They swallow their prey whole, without even trying to chew it. Whales swim very fast. With their dimensions, they manage to reach speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour. In addition, these animals are excellent divers. The sperm whale, for example, can dive to depths of up to three thousand meters! And all this is due to a thick layer of fat, which allows them to dive to such depths, as well as air remaining in the whale's overgrown nostril, as if in a bag. This gives him the opportunity not to surface for two whole hours. If we talk about how long a whale lives, then this figure reaches 50 years. Whales are viviparous animals. They give birth to live cubs, feeding them with milk, which, by the way, is 10 times more nutritious than cow's! Thanks to this, little whales grow very quickly. It is worth noting that these animals have excellent vision, touch, hearing, and not only ... As it has been proven, they navigate with the help of other senses - analyzers. Whales are able to catch ultrasound and infrasound, they communicate with each other using various sounds. Among other things, whales are very smart animals that are easy to train!

Where does the whale live - in the tropics or in the ice?

Whales are distributed all over the globe, because in the seas and oceans there are no barriers to their movement. They keep in packs, preferring the same place in a certain season, but nevertheless, they have to swim long distances. Depending on the species, whales are divided into heat-loving and lovers of cool waters. For example, a white whale (or beluga whale) lives in polar waters, and killer whales live in the waters of the tropics or subtropics.

The "suicide" phenomenon

This is a common occurrence in the life of whales. Thrown ashore, the animal dies. According to one version, this is because people are very strong. Another version says that it's all the fault of their own ultrasounds, which sometimes fail the whales. Swimming under water, the animal sends an ultrasonic signal forward, and in case of an obstacle, it is reflected from it and comes back to the whale (as in bats), which, knowing full well that there is an obstacle ahead, turns off. But if the shore is rather flat, then the ultrasonic signal will not be reflected from it, which misinforms the whale: it thinks that there is water ahead and is thrown onto land at high speed! Protect the whales - save them!

baleen whales

Blue whale. The largest animal on the planet. It can reach a length of 33 m and a mass of 150 tons. Cubs are born with a length of 6 to 8.8 m and a weight of 2-3 tons. Blue whales are found in almost all areas of the oceans, with the exception of the tropical zone. In the Northern Hemisphere, they winter in the latitudes of Southern Japan, California, North Africa, and the Caribbean. In the Southern Hemisphere, animals spend the winter at the latitudes of Australia, Peru, South Africa, and Madagascar. In summer, blue whales prefer the cool waters of the Antarctic, North Atlantic, Bering and Chukchi Seas. Fishing has been banned since 1965.

Fin whale. The second largest whale found in the oceans. The maximum length reaches 29 m. The mass of adult animals is usually about 50 tons. A characteristic external species feature of the fin whale is the asymmetry in the color of the side of the head: the lower right jaw is a quarter white, like the belly, and on the left side it is all dark, like the head.

Fin whales live almost everywhere, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, excluding the equator zone. Even in winter, they do not descend south of 30°N. and do not rise north of 20-25 oS. There are more fin whales in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. In Russian waters, minke whales of this species are found most often in the Bering and Chukchi seas, less often in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Japan, very rarely in the Barents and White. In addition, there were several cases of fin whales entering the Kara and. Fishing is prohibited.

Seiwal (saidian whale). The third largest whale in the oceans. the average length in the Northern Hemisphere is 13-14 m, in the Southern - 14.6-15.5 m, and the maximum - 18 and 19 m, respectively. Females begin to bring 4-5-meter cubs from the age of 10 years.

This species of minke whales also lives everywhere, but unlike blue whales and fin whales, it prefers warmer temperate latitudes and does not penetrate far into the cold waters of the Northern Hemisphere. In the Pacific Ocean, it is distributed from the island of Taiwan and the coastal waters of South Japan to the northern part of the Bering Sea. In the Atlantic, sei whales live from the Canary Islands and the coast of Florida to the northern coasts of Norway, Svalbard, Iceland, Labrador and Newfoundland, sometimes entering the Mediterranean Sea. In the Southern Hemisphere, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere, sei whales reach the ice edge encircling the ice continent. The fishery is limited.

Small minke whale (minke minke). The smallest representative of the minke whale family, 7-10 m long and weighing 7-9 tons . Often has a white transverse stripe on the pectoral fins. Widely distributed in temperate and cold waters of the oceans. In the Southern Hemisphere it is found everywhere in these zones, and in the Northern Hemisphere it prefers the Pacific Ocean: the Chukchi Sea, up to the ice zone; East China, Yellow, Japan, Okhotsk and Bering Seas, waters of Japan, the Kuril and Aleutian Islands, the coast of the USA and Canada. In the North Atlantic, minke whales are found from the coast of Florida to Labrador, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, as well as up to 70 o N. on the east coast of Greenland, near the island of Svalbard, in the Norwegian, North, Barents, White and Kara Seas. The fishery is limited.

Humpback whale (humpback). The most exotic of the minke whale family. With a body length of up to 18 m, it is distinguished by huge 4-5-meter tuberous pectoral fins, a dorsal fin in the form of a hump and a head covered with three to five rows of large warts.

It is distributed throughout the World Ocean from the Arctic to the Antarctic, migrates in the coastal zone in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean from the Chukchi Sea to the coasts of California and Mexico, from Alaska and Kamchatka to Taiwan. In the North Atlantic, humpback whales are found from Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya to Northwest Africa and the Cape Verde Islands, as well as from Greenland and Iceland to the Antilles. In the Southern Hemisphere, these whales migrate from the Antarctic coast north to Chile and Peru, Angola, Congo, Madagascar and New Zealand. Fishing for humpback whales has been banned since 1963.

Bowhead whale. The fattest representative of the order of cetaceans. It reaches a length of 15-18 m (sometimes up to 21 m), a mass of 150 tons. The head is 1/3 of the body length. The dorsal fin is absent. Adheres to surface layers of water. Floating up, within 1-3 minutes "exhales" up to 12 bifurcated fountains, and then dives again for 5-10 minutes. Females bring one cub every 3-6 years. It lives in Arctic waters in three local herds: near the island of Svalbard in the Barents Sea, off the western coast of Greenland, in the North Pacific Ocean in the Bering, Chukchi, Okhotsk Seas and in the Beaufort Sea. Up to 25-30 tons of fat are obtained from one whale.

Southern (smooth) whale. Habitat varies depending on the season. In winter, right whales concentrate in the North Asian part of the Pacific Ocean at 20-40 0 N, as well as in the southern part of the Sea of ​​Japan, in the Yellow, East China Seas and in the waters of Taiwan. In the spring (from March to May) the migration of animals to the north begins, and they spend the summer in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, in the area of ​​the Kuril ridge, off the coast of Kamchatka and the Commander Islands. With the onset of autumn, animals migrate to the south for wintering.

Gray whale. The oldest of the baleen whales. Has not lost contact with the coast, as it breeds only in shallow bays of California and Korea. With a maximum length of 15 m, the mass of animals reaches 20-35 tons. Growth continues up to 40 years. After 8 years, females give birth to cubs with a length of about 4 m and weighing up to 600 kg or more. It lives exclusively in the waters of the northern half of the Pacific Ocean. In Russian waters, it occurs along the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, in the La Perouse and Tatar Straits, in the area of ​​the Kuril Islands, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and sometimes in the East Siberian Sea along the edge of pack ice. In addition, gray whales are frequent visitors to the coastal waters of Korea, the Korea Strait and the Japan Islands. Mining is allowed only for the local population of Chukotka in single quantities.

TOOTH WHALES

Sperm whale. The largest representative of toothed whales. With a body weight of 50 tons, males can reach a length of 20, and females - 15 m. The average length of males in the waters of the Far East is 15, females - 13 m. 4 body lengths); depression in the lower part of the head; absence of teeth in the upper jaw and long lower jaws; several small humped fins behind the main dorsal fin. The weight of one tooth of the lower jaw of a sperm whale reaches 1.6 kg. Female sperm whales mature at 15-17, males - at 23-25 ​​years. The length of newborn cubs is 4-4.5 m. Sperm whales are distributed throughout the oceans. At the same time, females breed in the tropics and rarely go beyond the subtropical zone, while males can migrate in summer to the north up to the Davis Strait, the Barents and Bering Seas and to the south to Antarctica. In Russian waters, sperm whales are most often found in the area of ​​the Kuril ridge, in the southern part of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and near the Commander Islands.

Northern float. It is very easy to distinguish this species of whale from its relatives by its elongated cylindrical beak and characteristic high spherical "forehead", sometimes with white markings. It reaches 11-12 m in length, weighs 8-10 tons. It lives in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, from Cape Navarin, Alaska and British Columbia to the latitudes of Southern Japan and California. In the waters of Russia, it is more common in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and near the Kuril Islands, less often in the Sea of ​​Japan and the Bering Sea. The fat of the swimming pool is not edible, therefore it is mined either by accident or for economic purposes, mainly in Japan.

Tall bottlenose. Unlike the floater, the beak of the bottlenose is sharp and short, and the "forehead" hangs over its base. With a length of 9-10 m, the weight of animals does not exceed 8 tons. For their habitat, bottlenose have chosen the waters of the North Atlantic from the Davis Strait, the Greenland and Barents Seas to the latitudes of North-West Africa and the middle part of the United States. Sometimes they enter the Mediterranean, Baltic and White Seas. They winter in the warm waters of the Atlantic. Bottlenose fishing is carried out in the waters of Norway, the northwestern part of the Barents Sea and Iceland.

bottlenose dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins are common in coastal temperate and warm waters of the oceans. Three of the four types of bottlenose dolphins are found in Russian waters: Black Sea, Atlantic (in the Baltic) and North Pacific. The sizes of these animals do not exceed 3.3-3.6 m, and their weight is 300-400 kg. In spring and summer, they give birth to cubs a little over 1 m in length and weighing 11-12 kg. Bottlenose dolphins are used mainly in aquariums and zoos.

Common dolphin (real, Black Sea, common dolphin). The length of common dolphins is 1.6-2.6 m (in the Black Sea - no more than 2.1 m). Distinctive features of these animals are a slender body and a long beak, separated from the fat pad by characteristic grooves. The weight of male Black Sea dolphins varies from 24 to 58, and females - from 36 to 61 kg. The habitat of these animals in the World Ocean, as well as bottlenose dolphins, is very wide. Three species of dolphins live in the waters of Russia: Atlantic (Baltic), Black Sea (the smallest) and Far Eastern (Sea of ​​Japan). Fishing for dolphins in the Black Sea has been banned since 1967.

Grinds. Three types of pilot whales live in the World Ocean: common, tropical and black, or North Pacific. The black pilot whale is the largest, its length reaches 5.5-6.5 m. Characteristic external signs of pilot whales: a spherical head, almost devoid of a beak, a dorsal fin sharply bent back and shifted towards the head.

Toothed whales of this species are distributed in the North Atlantic and in the temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean to the latitudes of the Kuril, Commander and Aleutian Islands. Grind is regularly mined off the coast of Japan, the Faroe Islands, Newfoundland and Norway, as well as in the open waters of the North and Barents Seas.

Orcas. By the characteristic huge white spots, the killer whale is easy to distinguish from any other whale. With a body length of 8.7-10 m, the mass of the animal reaches 8 tons, and the speed of movement is 55 km/h, which greatly complicates its fishing. Killer whales prefer cold and temperate waters of the oceans. They were met even in the Arctic seas - the Kara and East Siberian (Chaun Bay). But for some reason animals avoid the Laptev and Black seas.

Sea pigs. Females are slightly larger than males - body length is 1.8 and 1.7 m, respectively. The maximum weight reaches 90 kg, the average - 50 kg, among the inhabitants of the Black Sea does not exceed 30 kg. The weight of the cubs is usually no more than 3 kg. These animals chose bays, bays, fjords, mouths and lower reaches of the rivers of the Northern Hemisphere as their habitats. In the waters of Russia there are three types of porpoises: Black Sea (the smallest), North Atlantic (Baltic, White, Barents Seas) and North Pacific (seas of the Far East).

Beluga whales. A characteristic feature of these whales, in addition to white, is the absence of a beak and dorsal fin. The length of males reaches 6 m, weight 2 tons, and females - 5 m and 1.5 tons, respectively. Cubs-suckers have a slate-blue color, and young belugas are gray or blue.

Distributed in all seas of the Arctic and adjacent basins, the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. In very severe winters, they can descend south to the latitudes of Japan and Great Britain, enter the Baltic Sea. Beluga whales of three species live in Russian waters: White Sea, Kara and Far Eastern. Their production in our waters is limited.

Narwhal (unicorn). The shape, weight and length of the body are the same as those of the beluga whale, but the back of the narwhal has a dark blue color with a general light background of the body, and the tail from above resembles an anchor with two wide paws. Males are distinguished by a powerful tusk with a spiral cut, protruding 2-3 m from the left side of the muzzle.

It prefers high latitudes for habitat - the Arctic Ocean and the Arctic seas, especially the Greenland region and the northern part of the Canadian archipelago. Narwhals were met from 85 about north latitude. in the north to Great Britain and the Netherlands, the Murmansk coast, the mouth of the Pechora, the White Sea, Bering Island, Port Moller (Alaska) in the south. The species is very small and can be attributed to the group of rare animals. Nevertheless, several hundred narwhals are mined annually by the inhabitants of the coast of Greenland.

Studying the largest mammal for a long time, scientists came to the conclusion that whales switched to an aquatic lifestyle about 50 million years ago, and hippos are their closest relatives on land.

The impressive size of this animal amazed people in ancient times, so the Greeks began to call them κῆτος - "sea monster". So the name was assigned to these giant, but cute inhabitants.

Let's try to dig into the variety of cetacean species and find out what is the largest whale in the world.

minke minke

Growing up to 10.7 meters in length, the representative of the minke whale family is the smallest of the huge family. Three species of this mammal inhabited the waters from the northern latitudes to the Antarctic.

A distinctive feature is the stripes behind the head. And the body itself has a dark gray color, but the belly and fins are white.

The minke whale does not like the team, and mostly makes solitary voyages. But in places where food accumulates, you can find huge herds of this amazing whale.

In the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, you can meet the majestic whale, whose size reaches from 12 to 16 meters in length.

Due to thoughtless fishing, the habitat of this species has been significantly reduced. Hunting of the northern right whale is prohibited, but the process of natural recovery of the population is very slow.

The whale got its specific name because of the shape of the dorsal fin. From a distance resembling a hump, as well as the habit of gracefully arching the back when moving.

The average length of humpbacks is about 14-15 meters, but some individuals grow up to 19.5 meters. Often above the water, in addition to the back of a humpback whale, you can see large pectoral fins.

This mammal is not tied to a specific territory, and you can meet humpbacks anywhere in the oceans. There is evidence that the humpback whale occasionally entered the Baltic Sea.

One of the three species of right whales has chosen the subtropical latitudes of the Southern Ocean as its habitat. On one of the islands near Argentina, scientists have equipped a whole center for the observation of these beauties.

The inhabitants of the southern seas grow up to 18 meters, and weigh over 80 tons at such sizes. They often swim up to ships and small boats, jumping out of the water, showing all their power and beauty.

Since 1937, the whale has been under protection, and unlike other species, it began to systematically recover, although scientists still cannot determine what factors affect the birth rate of cetaceans.

Japanese whale

The whale, outwardly similar to its North Atlantic relative, can be found in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean. There is evidence of its location off the coast of Mexico, but for some reason females come to give birth only to the Japanese islands.

Some individuals grow up to 19 meters. The huge mammal is in danger of extinction.

Experts have calculated that today in the world there are no more than 400 individuals of the Japanese whale that live in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and about 100 individuals live in the eastern part of the ocean.

The largest of the suborder of toothed whales, the sperm whale likes to stay in large groups. This makes it easier for them to travel long distances and feed.

Male sperm whales grow up to 20 meters, but females are much smaller. Among other whales, the sperm whale is distinguished by a large head, so it is difficult to confuse it with other cetaceans.

The sperm whale lives throughout the vast expanse of the world's oceans, except for its northernmost and southern outskirts. Perhaps the only one of a large family of cetaceans, which is very aggressive, and if injured, it can sink a ship.

The sei whale is also called the willow whale, and some representatives reach 20 meters in length. Interestingly, females are larger than males. The habitat of sei whales is the entire world ocean, where the water is above 8 degrees Celsius.

In addition to their large size, these mammals also reach speeds of up to 25 kilometers per hour, and dive almost to a depth of 300 meters.

In Russia, this marine animal is widespread near the Kuril Islands, less common in the Barents Sea.

Due to a sharp decline in the population, hunting for sei whales was completely banned in the mid-80s of the last century.

The cold waters of the northern latitudes were chosen for life by the Greenland whale, a marine giant growing up to 22 meters and weighing 150 tons.

The only species that spends its entire life in the northern seas, and feeds only on plankton, passing a huge amount of water through the gills. The population of the inhabitant of the north today has about 10 thousand individuals.

In ancient times, the tribes inhabiting the islands of the northern seas actively hunted the giant, dwellings were made from bones, and meat and fat were used for food.

The fin whale, which belongs to the common family of minke whales, lives in both hemispheres, but rarely approaches the coastline.

They grow up to 27 meters, and among relatives they are distinguished by agility, and with their huge size and weight they can move quickly and dive deeper than all cetaceans.

Despite the relatively large population, fin whales are considered an endangered species, which is why hunting for them is strictly limited.

Blue whale

This handsome man, growing up to 33 meters with a weight of 150 tons, is the largest whale.

The blue whale is a loner and loves to travel across the ocean in splendid isolation, while overcoming long distances. A triangular fin is located on the blue body, and the pectoral fins are quite wide and powerful.

Many museums around the world can boast that amazing and huge blue whale skeletons are on display in their expositions. And you can see its impressive size in the photo.

Conclusion

So we found out how much the whale weighs, but the photos will not convey all the beauty of these marine giants. With their large size, whales are the most harmless creatures on earth, feeding on plankton and small fish. Meeting with them among the ocean expanses causes a lot of positive emotions and indescribable joy.

The whale, the largest animal, somehow has a very low birth rate, which is why almost all species are close to extinction. Many countries have banned the hunting of this unique animal, and those who continue to hunt have drastically reduced its scale.