Whale

A whale was a large aquatic cetacean mammal native to the oceans of Earth. A young whale was called a calf. 
According to Dr. Gillian Taylor, a Human whale biologist, she had "a notorious weakness for hard luck cases, that's why I work with whales." () 
== Biology ==
Whales originally evolved from land mammals and were among the largest species to ever live on Earth. ( wall poster) According to Dr. Taylor, "The first commonly held misconception is that whales are fish. They're not, they're mammals just like you and me. Warm-blooded, needing air to breathe and producing milk to nurse their young." () Their streamlined, "fish-like" appearance allowed for easier swimming and diving. ( wall poster) 
Furthermore, whales generally did not attack other animals, as "[..] most whales don't even have teeth. They have a soft gum-like tissue that strains vast amounts of tiny shrimp for food and that is the limit of their hostility." () 
On Earth, whales communicated though a collection of sounds known as whale song, which would be passed from one another. () 
A sperm whale's intestines created a concretion known as ambergris that was once used to stabilize the scent of perfumes. ()
Whale blubber was at one time used as an energy source. ( wall poster)
== History ==
Whales appeared on Earth nearly ten million years before Humans. By the late 20th century, Humans still knew very little about whales. ()
The Biblical figure Jonah was said to have been swallowed by a whale, and remained for three days in its belly. ()
A whale that attacked Humans was the main element in the Earth book Moby Dick, the prey for Captain Ahab. (, )
Whaling was the hunting of whales. According to Dr. Taylor that "Since the dawn of time, men have harvested whales for a variety of purposes, most of which can be achieved synthetically at this point. One hundred years ago, using hand-thrown harpoons, man did plenty of damage, but that is nothing compared to what he has achieved in this century [...] whales hunted to the brink of extinction." () 
This was especially true of humpback and blue whales. Taylor further explained that "[d]espite all attempts at banning whaling, there are still countries and pirates currently engaged in the slaughter of these inoffensive creatures." ()
In 1986, the Cetacean Institute in Sausalito, California was the only museum on Earth that was exclusively devoted to whales. Indeed, among its features included regular showings of the film The Wonderful World of Whales in its marine theater. 
The facility also had the largest seawater on Earth where, and for a time, it held George and Gracie, two humpbacks that had wandered into San Francisco Bay while still calves. They were generally underfunded– in so much as they were unable to afford to feed George and Gracie the required two-tons of shimp per day invited– and pursuaded potential guests to visit and "Have a Whale of a Good Time!" ()
Due to their extreme intelligence, there was a time during the 20th century when attempts were made by the US military that "[tried] to teach whales to retrieve torpedoes," or similar tasks Dr. Talyor deemed as "some dipshit stuff like that." () 
In 2286, an alien Whale Probe visited Earth attempting to reestablish communications with the previously extinct humpback whale species. ()
By 2381, Starfleet had whales and dolphins serving among its ranks. Among those who served were to beluga whales– s Kimolu and Matt– who served in Cetacean Ops. (, et al.)
== Whale species ==
* Baird's beaked whale
* Beluga whale
* Blue whale
* Bowhead whale
* Cuvier's beaked whale
* False killer whale
* Fin whale
* Gray whale
* Humpback whale
* Killer whale
* North Pacific pilot whale
* Podiceps auritus
* Pygmy sperm whale
* Sei whale
* Sperm whale
==Non-Earth "whales"==
* Aquathawn
* Denebian whale
* Gormagander
== External link ==
* 
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Category:Animals