By Anne Smrcina, Education Coordinator Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Plymouth, Massachusetts
Thanks for all your great questions! Here's the second set of answers:
Q. How many bones does a whale have? A. I could not find an answer to this question. For the most part, whales have a remarkable similarity to humans -- they have "fingers" inside their flippers and they have backbones and ribs like we do. However, whales do not have feet (where humans have very many bones).
The Holy Trinity School in Bowie, Maryland asked: Q. How long do whales usually live? A. Phil Hamilton reports that right whales are believed to live about 60-70 years.
Q. Can a whale be killed by giving birth? A. Just as in the case with humans, probably.
Q. Are whales affected by life preservers and oil in the water? A. If by life preservers, you mean plastics and other floating debris, it is possible. Phil Hamilton reports that juvenile right whales have been seen playing with balls of net (which were gaffed and taken away from them, probably much to their disappointment since it seemed like they were playing with them much as a child does a ball). We still don't know to what extent whales can eject non-food items from their mouths and baleen. Oil may have a significant effect on the whales but this too is not known. It may affect their lungs, skin, and baleen (especially so if dispersants are used and the oil gets suspended in the water column). Much research still needs to be done in this area.
Q. Have you heard a whale talk? A. Whales can make a range of sounds -- grunts and clicks, in addition to the humpbacks "songs." However, these sounds cannot really be equated with human conversation (as far as we understand now).
Q. How long can whales get? A. The size range for the humpback is 30-60 feet; and for the right whale is 20-50 feet according to Steven Katona's "A Field Guide to Whales, Porpoises, and Seals from Cape Cod to Newfoundland."
Q. How do right whales get their callosities? A. Phil Hamilton reports that callosities seem to erupt out of the head and jaw areas where hair follicles are present. In both the northern and southern populations of right whales, males seem to have more callosified tissue. No one knows why. Lice specific to the right whale live in these callosities. According to the Katona book, "The creamy or orange-pink color of the callosities is caused by infestations of several species of cyamid amphipods, commonly called whale lice. Callosity size, distribution, and number vary among individuals."
Q. How do humpbacks and right whales defend themselves against sharks? A. Young animals have been attacked by orcas and probably sharks. The size of the adult whale is its protection. Dolphins have been known to attack sharks, but nothing has ever been seen with other whale species.
Q. Do whales have droppings? A. Yes. Whales urinate and defecate -- it's usually fairly fluid although it can be chunky and float to the surface. Phil Hamilton reports that it can be pretty foul smelling.
From Janice Bonesho comes: Q. Are the humpback whales an endangered species? A. Yes, humpbacks are endangered. There have been some studies that seem to indicate that the species is in better shape than had previously been thought -- a possible North Atlantic popuation between 15-20,000 individuals. Even if the population is taken off the endangered list, it would still be considered threatened.
Terry Sorensen of Lily Lake Elementary asks: Q. How far can a gray whale migrate in one day? A. 90-160 miles per day.
Q. How long is the longest song that a humpback whale has ever sung? A. Scientists have recorded individual songs of up to 30 minutes. However, the whale (males only) may sing for hours repeating the same song.
Christopher Delehanty and the Ogden Elementary 4th grade ask: Q. Why do whales beach themselves? A. Liz Pomfret of the International Wildlife Coalition answers that it is rare for large whales to beach themselves -- they usually come to shore dead. Even if they are sick, they will die at sea (although there has been a case of a stranding of sperm whales in New Zealand). There have been many recorded strandings of some of the smaller toothed whales, such as dolphins and pilot whales, that have been caught in tides and perhaps disoriented. There is no simple answer. Perhaps pollution has messed up their echo location capabilities, perhaps storms are the culprits. Lots more research needed here too.
Mrs. Hill's class from the Ogden school asks: Q. How do whales survive in the water if they have a hole in their back? A. The hole in the whale's back is its airhole. There are strong muscles around the airhole that cause it to close before the whale goes underwater preventing water from entering the whale's lungs. And just as humans can dive underwater and hold their breaths, so can whales. When they come to the surface, they exhale -- that's when we see the plume of spray. The blow from each type of whale is distinctive -- right whales have a definite V-shape, humpbacks have a bushy blow, blue whales a tall columnar version, and sperm whales angled forward and to the left.
Q. What kind of language do whales speak? A. Whales do not have a language as we know it, however, humpback males do "sing" distinctive songs between their northern feeding areas and their southern breeding grounds (perhaps to attract mates). And many sounds of varying kinds, including clicks, grunts, moans, etc., have been recorded for all cetacean species.
A group studying the Voyage of the MIMI asks: Q. Why does all this black smoke come out of the mother's body when she is having a baby? A. Just as there is blood loss during the birth of a human baby, so does it happen with cetaceans -- which are mammals like us.
Q. How can you tell how old a whale is? A. Depending on the type of species there are several ways of getting a good idea on the age of the whale. With toothed whales, researchers look at growth rings in the teeth (usually a good indicator). For baleen whales, scientists have developed other methods (but none can give a good fix on age, rather a comparable number -- eg, this whale appears to be older than that whale). Researchers look at the ear plug for annual growth layers (not quite as definitive as fish otiliths) and count the times a female whale has ovulated. Others are looking at striations in baleen, and isotope uptake (from nuclear testing). The best estimates of whale age have been from photo identification.
Q. Does a whale sleep? A. Whales don't sleep like us -- they are voluntary breathers. Studies on dolphins have shown that they rest one-half of their brains at a time -- so they are "sleeping" at "half speed." We don't know much about this lower state of awareness in the great whales. Perhaps this is happening during "logging" behavior. It would seem that the whales are going into a deep "rest" rather than a deep "sleep."
Q. When did the first whales appear? A. According to Richard Connor's "The Lives of Whales and Dolphins," The earliest cetaceans began making their appearance at least 50 million years ago (this would make it after the time of the dinosaurs -- but not all that much in terms of geological time).
Q. Why are there baleen and toothed whales? A. Phil Hamilton of the New England Aquarium notes that toothed and baleen whales fill different niches in the environment and take advantage of different feeding styles. Baleens can feed alone, while toothed whales usually feed in groups (or pods). Even baleen whales fill different niches -- some feed exclusively on plankton (such as the right whale) while others feed on small fish too (humpbacks).
Q. Are humpbacks born with baleen or does it grow in later? A. Baleen whales are born with a small amount which then grows in as the whale gets older.
Q. Why do some whales have two blowholes and is there a pattern for telling which whales have one and which two? A. Yes there is a pattern. Toothed whales have one blowhole and baleen whales have two.
Q. How do whales tell direction in the water? A. That's a good question that has no easy answer. Toothed whales use sonar to locate objects, we're not sure what baleen whales use.
Q. Do whales open and close their eyes underwater? A. Yes, there seems to be a double sheeth over the whales' eyes.
Q. Do whales ever get cold? A. For healthy whales, probably no. There's a better chance that they will overheat than get cold. Some researchers believe the dorsal fin on the whales is used as a heat exchanger (many blood vessels close to the surface) that would allow large whales to release some of their internal heat -- especially when they get into warmer southern waters.
Q. What kind of sicknesses do whales get? A. No one knows for sure.
Q. Do whale babies need to be burped like human babies? A. No. Whales do not have the connections between their air and food passages. When whales breath the air goes directly into the lungs, and when they eat, the food goes directly to their stomachs. There is no chance for air to get into their whale's mouth since it is suckling underwater.
Q. Do you think whales will change their form again through evolution? A. Evolution involves change -- if left over long enough a length of time, any species will undergo genetic changes. The question is -- will we protect these species now such that there will be a healthy population to continue on into the future.
Q. Do whales ever get hit by lightning? A. No one that I have asked has ever heard of such a case - - but that's not to say that it has never happened.
Q. Why do whales breach? A. There are different possible reasons for this behavior, according to whale researchers -- communication, to dislodge parasites, to move food through their systems, or for fun.
A Houston, TX questioner asked: Q. Is there a whale watching crew in Greenland yet? A. Yes. Research is being conducted there by Greenland Fisheries (a Denmark based researcher).
And a final question from the Lily Lake Elementary school: Q. What color eyes do right whales have? A. According to Phil Hamilton, the whales he's seen have reddish-brown eyes.
Thank you for all your interesting questions. Unfortunately, many of the answers are a bit incomplete. There's just so much we don't know about whales. It will be up to those of you interested in whale research to finish the job and fill in the blanks. Good luck with your future studies and have a great summer.
This is Anne Smrcina from the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary signing off for this year's Journey North. See you next year!
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: (612)339-6959