What is Facts about whales?

Whales are air-breathing marine mammals that nurse young; they include diverse toothed and baleen lineages.

Feeding and marine adaptations

Baleen whales may filter small organisms from water through baleen plates, while toothed whales catch different prey. The two groups do not hunt alike. They breathe at the surface through blowholes; dive duration depends on species and behaviour. Flipper-like forelimbs, powerful tails and insulating fat are adaptations to the sea. Their ancestors belonged to terrestrial mammal lineages; size does not make whales fish.

Migration, noise and conservation

Some species travel long distances between breeding and feeding areas, while others move differently. Ship strikes, entanglement and underwater noise can be significant threats depending on species. Conservation also requires monitoring movement routes and food habitats. One whale sighting cannot establish the health of a regional population.