What makes whales unique

Adopt Please select an elephant a lion a panda a turtle an african rhino an orangutan a dolphin an amur leopard a gorilla a snow leopard a polar bear a penguin a jaguar. Choose monthly donation Prefer a one-off donation?

Choose one-off donation Prefer a monthly donation? Top 10 facts about whales. Become a member. More animals facts. Whales are divided into two main groups The baleen whales and the toothed whales. Some whales bubble net feed This involves whales cooperatively blowing bubbles that encircle their prey. There used to be thousands of blue whales It's estimated that there were over , Antarctic blue whales before their exploitation - today there are less than 3, Throughout human history, cetaceans have been the subjects of exceptional artistic creations.

They are supremely photogenic. Fourth , whales are culturally special. Living cetaceans have an almost unbelievable capacity for enriching the lives of human beings with whom they come in peaceful contact. You all know this from your own experience. They have a uniquely universal appeal to the human spirit. They are unmatched invokers of awe. There is a mystique about them that inspires a sense of wonder and exhilaration among persons from all races and nations, in ways no other, non-human species has equaled so widely.

Furthermore, whales appear to have a special affinity for human beings. Despite their overwhelming size and power, and despite the centuries of their being victimized by human predation, whales in the wild are proving to be uniquely tolerant of the peaceful proximity of human beings and indeed are increasingly demonstrating not merely passive coping, but deliberate initiation of positive interactions.

This adds significantly to their cultural uniqueness. Fifth , whales are politically special. The vast majority of cetacean species are non-national in range. Their living space, unlike that of land animals, does not fall within clearly defined national boundaries. Their dwelling place is largely the global commons, the seas of the world, which do not belong to any one nation. More than any other marine mammal, whales are pelagic in their habitat, and thus they constitute a unique global resource.

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