What is a whale?
People often ask, “Is a whale a fish?” This is no surprise as whales share many similarities with most fishes. Like most fishes, whales have fins, and they live underwater. Despite these characteristics, however, whales aren’t fish. Whales are mammals.
Whales are aquatic mammals belonging to the order Cetacea. Like most mammals, they are warm-blooded creatures who give birth to live young. They have lungs instead of gills, so they can’t breathe underwater. They breathe through a blowhole on top of their heads, which is why they often swim near the surface.
While it varies per type, most whales travel alone. A mother and its baby whale or “calf” also often live together until the calf matures. Some types of whales also travel in small groups called “pods”.
What are the different types of whales?
There are several types of whales, but you can group them into two major categories: toothed whales and baleen whales.
Toothed Whales
As its name implies, a toothed whale refers to whales with teeth. They are also known as “odontocetes”. Some toothed whales chew their prey, or just simply swallow them whole.
They only have one blowhole on top of their heads, and they range from 4.5 to 66 ft. Over 70 species of toothed whales exist, including dolphins and sperm whales.
