Sperm Whale

Remember Moby Dick? He was a Sperm Whale. The Sperm Whale is the largest of the toothed whales. It has the largest brain of any living animal. Sperm Whales have a huge head, almost a third of its entire body length. The scientific name of the Sperm Whale is Physeter Macrocephalus, where "macrocephalus" really means "big head"!

Another unique part of the Sperm Whale is the single blowhole on the left side of the head instead of the top, like other whales. The Sperm Whale also has a large hump on the back, followed by smaller bumps. Gray in color, the Sperm Whale's skin is not smooth like other whales but very wrinkly.

The Sperm Whale's huge head has a large space in it (called the spermaceti organ) filled with a waxy liquid called spermaceti oil. This oil can be cooled or heated by the water through the blowhole and can shrink and increase in weight, helping the whale sink; or expands and decreases in weigh, helping the whale rise to the surface of the ocean.

Although numbering close to 2 million whales today, the Sperm Whale is classified as VULNERABLE in the endangered species list. Two million seems like such a large number, but scatter that number throughout all the oceans on Earth, and the number looks very small. Some reasons why the Sperm Whale is on the endangered list include:

1. Hunting - The Sperm Whale has always been hunted for its spermaceti; whalers sell them to people who make cosmetics and candles. Japan continues to hunt Sperm Whales despite the ban on whaling by the International Whaling Commission.

2. Threats from fishing equipment - Sperm Whales also get entangled in nets and fishing gear, and collide with fishing boats.

Sperm Whale Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Physeter Macrocephalus
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 49 to 59 feet long
Weight: 35 to 45 tons
Range: Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans
Diet: Squid, fish, octopus

To make your own Whale Sock, click on the image or here.