Sperm Whales

Many classic books have been made into movies. One such example would be Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which has been adapted into many movies, television series, even a cartoon. The most recent film, or miniseries rather, would have to be Moby Dick, released in 1998 and starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab—rather appropriate after making a memorable reference to the vengeful captain on Star Trek.

Although the plot of the story looks at Moby, a giant male sperm whale, in a ferocious light, these animals actually do not attack boats or even dare go near humans in the wild. If any do become aggressive, it because they feel threatened, wanting only defend themselves.

Sperm whales are large marine mammals that are found all over the world's oceans and are known to have the biggest brain amongst any living creature on earth. These whales are toothed whales and feed on fish, giant and colossal squids. Sperm whales even bear the battle scars of their fights with squids, whose tentacle suckers grasp onto the whale during an epic hunt.

Since their prey is found in the deepest parts of the ocean, sperm whales have to dive down to 3 kilometers or 9,800 feet, making them the deepest divers amongst all mammals. These whales communicate using clicking vocalization; this is the loudest click or sound ever produced by any animal on earth. They use sonar to navigate through the dark waters of the deep and to find food.

Sperm whales are social animals, living in groups. Young whales and female whales travel together, separate from mature male whales. Mature female whales give birth to one baby every 3 to 6 years and take care of their young for a little over 10 years. Mature sperm whales can grow to about 67 feet long and live up to 70 years. They do not have many natural predators, but groups of killer whales have been known to take down a sperm whale calf.

 

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