SANDWICH PUBLIC LIBRARY Exhibit
FEBRUARY 2023
BONNIE GARAVENTI
BONNIE GARAVENTI
Whales Play
Humpback Whales, known for their curious and gentle nature, are one of the most playful whales on earth. From flipper slapping to spyhopping and full body breaching, their acrobatics are often a form of play that we humans find equally entertaining to watch. They will play with each other, with sticks, boats, divers, other fish, and just about anything else they find curious in the water.
Humpback Whales also
Whales Sleep
Why do Sperm Whales sleep vertically? Sperm Whales must surface in order to breath, and this position makes it easier for them to come up for air while staying submerged to maintain body temperature. It also makes it easier to spot predators and watch over their young ones, as they are able to keep one eye open and half of their brain awake even while sleeping. (This is known as unihemispheric slumber.)
Sperm Whales also
Whales Need
Once numbering in the tens of thousands, today fewer than 350 North Atlantic Right Whales are known to exist and are in dire need of our help to avoid extinction. Their numbers were initially decimated by commercial hunters, with their name derived from being the "right" whales to hunt because they floated when killed. For those that remain, changes in climate have shifted their migratory paths inland to the busy coastline of New England and Canada, putting them at extreme risk of vessel strikes, fishing & lobster line entanglements and pollution - including noise from ships which raises their stress hormones to dangerous levels. As a result, the life span of a breeding female has been reduced from 60 years to 45, and calf birthing has gone from one every 3 years to just one every 7-10 years.
Humpback Whales, known for their curious and gentle nature, are one of the most playful whales on earth. From flipper slapping to spyhopping and full body breaching, their acrobatics are often a form of play that we humans find equally entertaining to watch. They will play with each other, with sticks, boats, divers, other fish, and just about anything else they find curious in the water.
Humpback Whales also
- grow to a length of up to 60 feet
- undertake some of the longest migrations of any living mammal, traveling thousands of miles each year
- sing some of the longest, most complex songs in the animal kingdom
- will stop feeding completely for about three months while nursing
- gently float their newborn calves to the surface, holding them completely out of the water to take their first breaths (without this help, some will sadly drown)
Whales Sleep
Why do Sperm Whales sleep vertically? Sperm Whales must surface in order to breath, and this position makes it easier for them to come up for air while staying submerged to maintain body temperature. It also makes it easier to spot predators and watch over their young ones, as they are able to keep one eye open and half of their brain awake even while sleeping. (This is known as unihemispheric slumber.)
Sperm Whales also
- sleep for around 15 minutes at a time, and for only about 7% of each day
- are the largest of the toothed whales, reaching up to 67ft in length
- have the largest brain of any animal, and can live to be 70 years old
- can dive to depths of 9500 ft where they find the giant squid they love to feast on
- are named for their block shaped head housing the spermaceti organ (They were hunted for the waxy substance found there)
- produce ambergris, or whale vomit, which has been used to create perfumes and expensive high-end scents
- Diver is to scale
Whales Need
Once numbering in the tens of thousands, today fewer than 350 North Atlantic Right Whales are known to exist and are in dire need of our help to avoid extinction. Their numbers were initially decimated by commercial hunters, with their name derived from being the "right" whales to hunt because they floated when killed. For those that remain, changes in climate have shifted their migratory paths inland to the busy coastline of New England and Canada, putting them at extreme risk of vessel strikes, fishing & lobster line entanglements and pollution - including noise from ships which raises their stress hormones to dangerous levels. As a result, the life span of a breeding female has been reduced from 60 years to 45, and calf birthing has gone from one every 3 years to just one every 7-10 years.