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Life on Earth originated in water many hundreds of millions of years ago, but time passed, during the evolution of the marine life moved to land and began to develop on the ground. But the proud and majestic whales, which are perhaps the largest animals on the planet, remained to live in the oceans of the planet. And in all the oceans, even the northern ones. In conditions that are not suitable for life, one of the species, Greenland whales, lives among the eternal cold and cold.
The Greenland (or polar) whale was not so long ago - some 150-200 years ago - it was found throughout the territory of the Arctic Ocean in huge quantities. Literally sailing vessels, maneuvered in all directions between swimming fish. In modern times, they have become much less, according to scientists - no more than ten to eleven thousand. What is this marine aquatic beast?
Description and appearance
The description of the bowhead whale should start with the size, and they are impressive - the males reach a length of 18-19 meters, and the females of these animals are slightly larger - their length can be 22-23 meters. Adult whales gain weight up to 100 tons, but this is not the limit - some specimens have a mass of 150 tons.
The skull of the animal is very massive, its length is almost a third of the total body length, tiny eyes are located on both edges of the huge mouth. The lower U-shaped jaw is slightly larger than the upper, slightly protruding forward. All organs of touch - vibrissae (popularly referred to as a whalebone) are located on it. They are very thin and quite long - 5-5.5 meters, there are more than three hundred of them. The muzzle of the animal tapers towards the end and is sharpened.
The animal has no pronounced ears, but the hearing is excellent. The device of the inner ear allows you to perceive sound waves not only in the familiar format and in a wide range, but also in ultrasound.
On the crown of the head of a gigantic fish there is a breathing vent - two not very large slits through which the whale with great force releases six-meter fountains of sea water. The force of the produced fluid is so powerful that the jets break through the ice thirty centimeters thick.
The body of the fish is smoothly streamlined, blue and gray. This type of whale does not have growths and pimples on the skin, so all sorts of parasites such as small crustaceans and whale lice do not attach to and breed on the skin.
There is no fin on the back of the sea creature, but there are two humps. They are clearly visible when you look at the whale from the side. The pectoral fins look like oars - wide, not very long and with rounded tips. The giant's heart is huge - about a passenger car and weighs about half a ton.
Under the skin of the animal there is an impressive layer - up to 70 centimeters - of fat, which serves as reliable protection from the deadly cold of the northern seas and oceans.
The tail is about nine meters, the tips are pointed, and in the middle there is a depression.
Lifestyle, character
The advantages of this method of movement are that it is thus easier to push the ice and overcome obstacles encountered in the way. And as soon as autumn comes, they migrate back to the southern regions of the northern seas.
Although whales and schooling, but everyone lives on their own, constantly looking for food. To do this, they dive as deep as possible, collect a full mouth of water, and then float out, releasing huge water fountains. They emerge in an interesting way: first, a gigantic head appears outside, then part of the body. Then the whale, having rolled over on its side, sharply falls on it.
Like any mammal, the whale sometimes sleeps - before going into sleep, it rises as high as possible and falls asleep. A body with a good supply of fat adheres perfectly to the water surface. Over time, it slowly drops down. Having reached a certain depth, the whale strikes with its tail, rises up and everything repeats until the fish sleeps.
Nutrition
The diet of Greenland polar whales is animal, it includes small crustaceans and crustaceans, fry, caviar, zooplankton, krill, sometimes bottom organisms are found. The process of eating looks like this: a whale sinks to a depth, opens its mouth wide and swims, filtering the water that has got into the mouth. Within a minute, a whale can filter out up to 50 thousand organisms. The contents settling on the mustache are immediately sent to the stomach with the help of the tongue. To feel full, a whale needs about two tons of food per day.
By autumn, whales accumulate a huge layer of fat, it helps them survive until spring and not starve to death.
Breeding
Whales are polygamous, males become sexually mature at about 21-22 years old. And in this matter, females overtake the male sex - to them puberty comes several years earlier. The mating season begins at the end of February, males attract females, performing songs of their own composition. And every season come up with new ones.
Pregnancy lasts 13-15 months, the following spring, most often in May, a whale is born. The baby is round as a barrel, a little brighter than the parents, the body length of the newborn is 4.3-5.3 meters. The cub grows one and a half centimeters per day, as long as the mother feeds with milk. It is similar in thickness to toothpaste and very oily - more than 50 percent. Maternal feeding lasts a little over a year.
The parent behaves like a very caring mother, being always next to the child, feeding him and protecting him from dangers. Having seen a nearby enemy (for example, a killer whale), an angry mother drives her away, striking her with a long tail.
Whales and the ecosystem
The role of the bowhead whale in the ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean is important - it acts as a regulator of zooplankton.
Economic value, pros and cons
Cetaceans have always been of great value to humans - for centuries, whalers beat whales and mined meat, whale fat and a rather valuable whalebone. With its large size, the polar whale gives all this in large quantities. Many local residents living in the northern regions (for example, the Eskimos) were heavily dependent on these animals, because thanks to them they had food, fuel and could make labor tools.
Minuses
The only negative factor can be called only cases when animals passing by prevented a person from fishing and harvesting fish - they frightened and chased schools. Sometimes it happened that whales collided with boats and fishing vessels and got into networks that were not intended for them.
How many whales live
The bowhead whale has the largest life expectancy among all mammals. So, the average age of the killed individuals was 70-80 years, and after studying the core of the eyes, zoological scientists came to the conclusion that these animals easily live up to two hundred years, since there are very few diseases that shorten these beauties in the world.
Whale guard
Since the 17th century, when people began to massively destroy whales for good money, a lot of individuals of all kinds were destroyed. In the 70s of the 20th century, whales were listed in the Red Book as an endangered species and began to be protected by law.Currently, hunting for animals is strictly limited.
Interesting
Their eyesight is disgusting, the scent is the same - whales do not smell.
The speed of the whale is low - about twenty kilometers per hour.
Sometimes there are cases of pseudohermaphroditism among whales - this is when the female genital organs begin to form in females.
Whales, due to their enormous size, have no enemies - not one predator wants to get involved with such a giant. The only ones who sometimes try to encroach on animals are killer whales.
Video: bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
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