Whether you’re a huge fan of the whale species or just looking for information on these amazing marine animals there are a number of unique and fascinating characteristics that whales possess when compared to fish and other aquatic animals.
Many of the interesting factors that whales possess also apply to the dolphin and porpoise species as they are also marine mammals and belong to the same cetacean family as the whale species.
To give you an idea of just how awesome these animals are we’ve put together list of 28 interesting facts that you may not know about these incredible marine mammals.

28 Things you may not know about whales

1) Although whales appear to release water from their blowhole, they are actually just pushing the surrounding water away from the blowhole. When diving the whale closes its blowhole using its sphincter muscle to avoid accidentally taking in water, which could cause the whale to suffocate and potentially drown.

2) Unlike other mammals whales do not breathe through their mouth. Instead they breathe exclusively through their blowhole, because the oxygen passage and food passage are completely separate from one another. This allows the whale to consume food underwater while preventing the water from accidentally entering their lungs.

3) As stated earlier whales belong to the cetacean family which also includes all species of dolphin and porpoise. Several characteristics that make the cetacean family unique include being warm-blooded, giving birth, breathing oxygen, producing milk and having a vertical moving spine (they arch their back and flukes to swim) as compared to fish and other aquatic species that move horizontally.

4) There are currently around 40+ known species of whale in existence. If you include the other cetaceans then there are around 40+ known species of dolphin and 6 known species of porpoise.

5) Whales can vary greatly in size depending on their species from the dwarf sperm whale, which grows to an average lengths of around 9 ft. and weighs between 500 – 600 lbs. to the blue whale which can grow to lengths of over 100 ft. (70 – 90 on average) and weigh more than 180 tons (100 – 150 tons on average)!

7) When threatened certain whale species are able to accelerate to speeds of up to 30 mph. for short bursts of time in order to escape potential attacks or threats.

All whale species are classified as either toothed whales or baleen whales depending on their physical characteristics. As the name suggests toothed whales are born with teeth while baleen whales are born with baleen plates that have bristles attached to them. Toothed whales are also equipped with echolocation and are generally smaller than the baleen whale suborder.

9) Some whales are able to navigate the ocean in pitch black water because they use echolocation to detect objects, food and threats in their environment. Originally thought to only exist in the toothed whale suborder researches are now researching whether or not baleen whales possess echolocation abilities.

10) In order to stay warm in cold/freezing climates whales are covered in a thick layer of blubber that can range from 1 inch to 1 ft. in thickness depending on the species.

11) The largest known living animal is the blue whale which can grow to be over 100 ft. long and weigh 180 tons.

12) Although whales can grow to be quite large most species have throats that are too small to swallow a human. In fact most whales have an esophagus (food passage) that is roughly the size of a beach ball, which is much smaller than a humans body.

13) The smallest known whale is the dwarf sperm whale which can grow to an average size of around 9 ft. long.

14) Baleen whales are born with two blowholes while toothed whale only possess one.

15) Whale poop is extremely important for feeding phytoplankton which remove carbon from the atmosphere.

16) Although whaling was once a highly lucrative business it is now illegal to hunt whales for commercial purposes.

17) The history of whale watching (in the US) can be dated back as far as 1950 where the Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego was declared a public place to observe gray whales in their natural habitat. Since the end of the whaling era whale watching has grown to become a billion dollar annual business.

18) Whales are part of the cetacean species which is made up of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

19) Because whales are marine mammals they breathe air, are warm-blooded, produce milk and bear offspring.

20) All whale species are divided into toothed whales and baleen whales depending on their characteristics.

21) A blue whales heartbeat can be detected from over 2 miles away.

22) The largest toothed whale is the sperm whale which can grow to be 67 ft. long and weigh more than 50 tons!

23) When it comes to lifespan and which whales live the longest scientists/researchers have estimated that a healthy bowhead whale can live for
as long as 200 years!

24) Blue whales can eat up to 8,000 pounds of krill per day or as much as 40 million krill per day.

25) Due to its long tusk the narwhal whale is sometimes referred to as the unicorn of the sea.

26) When referring to the farther, mother and child the male whale is known as the bull, the female is referred to as the cow and newborn is named the calf.

27) When threatened or surprised the dwarf sperm whale is capable of releasing a dark ink like liquid from its body (just like an octopus) in order to blind its pursuer so that it can escape.

28) Whales along with reptiles remain one of our oldest connections to the history of the dinosaurs as their earliest ancestors lived more than 50 million years ago.

http://www.whalefacts.org/things-you-may-not-know-about-the-whale-species/
cc: Disguy, Justwise

Very insightful.