What Is a Baby Whale Called? | Animals - mom.me What Is a Baby Whale Called? Whales have sharp nurturing instincts. Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images Whales, the gentle giants of the ocean, are a curious and majestic group of animals. There are many species of whale -- it’s incredible to think of the differences between aggressive, fast orcas and slow, lumbering blue whales. Whales have intriguing social structures complete with communication, societal roles and the raising of young over a long period of time, making them similar to humans in more ways than you might initially think. The complexities of whale relationships are evident in the way they raise their young. Birth Seasons The birth of a new baby whale, known as a calf, usually occurs during the birth season for that specific type of whale. Orcas, for example, tend to give birth in the spring or fall, while blue and humpback whales do so in the winter. Gestation also varies from whale to whale -- with orcas it lasts around 17 months, with humpbacks 12 and with blues 11. Almost all whale births are to single calves, but rare twin births have been observed in wild whales.

Nursing Habits Whales, like humans, spend a great deal of time nursing their young. Killer and humpback whale calves nurse just a few hours after birth and continue to do so for a year or more. Killer whales nurse at all hours, but only for a few seconds at a time. These brief nursing sessions add up to an average of 90 minutes each day. Blue whale calves drink 100 gallons of milk every day for the first seven months after their births. Calves stay close to their mothers while nursing and learning their way around the sea. Sticking Together Different whales have different approaches to the concept of community and family. Toothed whales, such as orcas and dolphins, live and hunt in large groups known as pods. These pods often share the responsibilities of caring for and protecting new calves. Baleen whales, like blue whales and gray whales, tend to travel either in smaller pods or completely solo. Whale calves also reach maturity at different ages depending on their species -- it takes blue whales 10 years to mature, while killer whales can mature in as few as six.

Life in the Pod A new calf’s life is hectic from the get-go: Calves are born swimming, and most are immediately aware of the presence of their mothers and the pod around them. Calves are capable of exploring without the aid of their mother within a few days depending on species, but whale mothers will keep the calves in close proximity to prevent them from becoming lost or risking a predatory encounter. Though whale calves are weak at first and must swim in their mother’s slipstream to keep up, they grow quickly. Orcas, for example, put on around 1,000 pounds in their first year of life. Stories Of Captive Killer Whales | A Whale Of A Business | FRONTLINE | PBS WATCH SCHEDULE TOPICS ABOUT FRONTLINE SHOP TEACHER CENTER ...the first live orca exhibited in captivity.Vancouver Aquarium commissioned 38-year-old sculptor, Samuel Burich, to find and kill an orca whale, and to fashion a life-sized model for the aquarium's new British Columbia Hall. He set up a harpoon gun on Saturna Island in British Columbia's Gulf Islands. Two months later, a pod of 13 killer whales approaches the shore.

Burich harpoons a young whale, injuring but not killing it. "Immediately, two pod members came to the aid of the stunned whale, pushing it to the surface to breathe. Then the whale seemed to come to life and struggled to free itself--jumping and smashing its tail and, according to observers, uttering 'shrill whistles so intense that they could easily be heard above the surface of the water 300 feet away.' Burich set off in a small boat to finish the job. He fired several rifle shells at the whale...but the orca did not die. The aquarium director, Murray A. Newman, soon arrived from Vancouver by float plane and decided to try to save the 15-foot-long 1-ton whale. Using the line attached to the harpoon in its back, Burich and Bauer towed the whale to Vancouver. It took 16 hours "through choppy seas and blinding squalls" to drag the whale to Vancouver. Moby Doll is put into a makeshift pen at Burrard Drydocks, and becomes an international celebrity and a magnet for scientists.

Killer whales had been recorded by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1956, but no study was made of their sounds until Moby Doll's capture. William Schevill and William A. Watkins of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts visit Moby Doll to study and record her sounds. Scientists and others who observe the whale comment on the whale's docility, tameness. "The whale seemed to be suffering from shock...For a long time, Moby Doll...would not eat. She was offered everything from salmon to horse hearts, but the whale only circled the pool night and day in a counterclockwise pattern." After 55 days in captivity, Moby Doll begins eating--up to 200 pounds of fish a day. But the whale has developed a skin disease from the low salinity of the harbor water, and continues to appear exhausted. The whale dies a month later, after 87 days in captivity. Newspapers around the world chronicle Moby Doll's death. The Times of London gives the whale's obituary a two-column heading, the same size given to the outbreak of World War II.

"The widespread publicity --some of it the first positive press ever about killer whales--marked the beginning of an important change in the public attitude toward the species." Postscript: the autopsy revealed Moby Doll to be a male, not a female. (Source: "ORCA: The Whale Called Killer," by Erich Hoyt, 1990 edition) the bull killer whale is accidentally caught in a gill net near Namu, British Columbia, Canada. Fisherman Bill Lechkobit's gill net had become entangled in a reef, so he cut the net loose. In the morning, two killer whales, "blackfish" as the fishermen called them, were found in the net--a bull and a calf. "The first day, ...the bull slipped out through a place between the net and the rocks, as if showing the calf the route to freedom. The baby stayed put, so the bull returned. Two days later, the calf was gone, but for some reason, the bull remained." Namu is brought to the Seattle Public Aquarium by Ted Griffin, swimming roughly 450 miles behind Griffin's boat in a floating sea pen.

The public falls in love with him: a rock 'n roll song is written and a popular movie is made with him (called "Namu the Killer Whale"). He eats 375 pounds of dead fish a day--five percent of his body weight. He is the first killer whale to perform for the public. Yet, despite his rapport with Griffin, and his acceptance of his new performance and feeding routines, Namu is heard to issue "loud, strident screams' regularly from his Rich Cove pen. At time, his cries were picked up by passing Puget Sound whales, who apparently returned his calls." Then, with no warning, Namu dies due to an infection from polluted water in his pen. It is July, 1966. He had survived 11 months in captivity. ...Caught by Ted Griffin and Don Goldsberry in Carr Inlet, Washington, Shamu was their first successful live-capture orca whale, and the first in a long succession of ' Shamus' - the stage name given to performing orcas in the U.S. Sea World chain of parks.

They put her in the pen with Namu for a short time, they were apparently good companions, then she was flown to Sea World San Diego in December, 1965. According to Erich Hoyt's book, Shamu made distress calls throughout her first day at Sea World. Not always nice, on one occasion, she bit a girl's leg and played tug-of-war with her, reports Hoyt. Shamu died at Sea World San Diego in August, 1971, after six years in captivity. ...Lolita is caught during a highly controversial 1970 whale roundup at Penn Cove, Washington. Several whales die during this roundup and later wash up on a beach, with bellies slit and weighed down by steel chains. Several other whales from that set were sent to aquariums. Lolita alone survives. She lives and performs at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida. (Note: "Lolita's Legion" was formed in 1996. It is a group of schoolchildren working to free Lolita and includes 3000 children in six countries. For information, email Carl Dortch: lkitto@gfk.auracom.com.) ...Keiko is caught off Iceland.

A calf, barely 2 years old, he gets caught in a herring fishing net and is shipped on a cargo plane from Iceland to Marineland of Ontario, Canada. One of six orcas being trained by the park, he is the youngest and most timid. 1985--Keiko is bought by Reino Aventura, an amusement park in Mexico City, Mexico. 1992--Keiko is cast in the Warner Brother's film, "Free Willy," by producers Lauren Shuler-Donner and Jenny Lew Tugend. 1993--"Free Willy" is released, and becomes Warner Brothers' second highest-grossing movie that year at the box office. After the film is over, more than 300,000 people from around the world call an 800 number at the end of the film, expressing their wish that Keiko be released, like the Willy character he played in the film. 1995--"Free Willy II" is released to the theaters.

1996 January --Keiko moves to Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport to begin his rehabilitation, after two years of negotiations between the Free Willy Keiko Foundation and Reino Aventura. The goal: to teach him to eat live fish again, to increase his vigor, muscle tone, skin condition, and weight, so that he may be released to the wild and hopefully, reunited with his family. 1997-98 Training Keiko to capture and eat live fish continues, together with overall conditioning. The current plan is to relocate Keiko to a protected sea pen in the North Atlantic, possibly in 1998, where he can continue to receive care and begin a final phase of rehabilitation, until it's decided whether he can be released to the wild. Possible sea-pen sites under consideration include Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. In 1977, Corky had her first calf, the first killer whale to be conceived and born in captivity. But the calf was brain damaged, and soon died--and so did at least four more of Corky's calves.

Corky's calf born in 1986 failed to nurse, so every six hours, around the clock, Marineland employees hand-fed the baby. Corky II is believed to be from the A5 pod, which lives in the waters off northern Washington and southern British Columbia. She was caught in Pender Harbor, B.C, Canada, in December, 1969, sent to Marineland in California until 1987, then to Sea World, California, where she is still alive, performing, and producing today, under the "stage name" Shamu. When a tape of Corky's family vocalizations (recorded by orca expert Paul Spong) is played for Corky, she shudders long and visibly. Junior spent his first two years post-capture in Saedyrasafnid, Iceland. At the end of 1986, he went to Marineland of Ontario in Canada. Zoocheck Canada Inc wrote this memorial for Junior: "Junior was a male Icelandic orca whale who languished in a tiny tank inside a 'warehouse' at Marineland for more than four years, cut off from outside air, sunlight and normal companionship.

Junior died at Marineland in 1994." According to whale expert Erich Hoyt, other orcas who have died at Marineland include: Kandu II, Kandy, 'No name' and 'No Name.'" (Source: Zoocheck Canada Inc., in Toronto; "ORCA: The Whale Called Killer," by Erich Hoyt, 1990 edition) Captured in November, 1983, in the waters of Iceland. He was at Saedyrasafnid, Iceland, until November, 1984, and then was moved to Sealand of the Pacific, a marine park in Victoria, British Columbia. In November, 1991, Tillikum is an estimated 20 feet long, and 11 years old. Sea World, Inc., applies to U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for a permit to import the male orca, noting that Sealand of the Pacific plans to discontinue the display of killer whales in its facility in 1992. It also notes that the two female orcas at Sealand with Tillikum are pregnant.

Sea World's application reads: "Due to the disruptive and potentially harmful impact this male may have on the success of mother/calf nursing and bonding, authorization is requested for the relocation of this animal to Sea World of Florida as soon as possible."January, 1992: To separate him from the other orcas, Sealand places Tillikum in a tiny holding pool, where his health is undermined to such a degree, that Sea World applies for, and receives, a permit to import Tillikum on a medical emergency basis. Humpbacks Species: Megaptera novaeangliae Common Name: Humpback Whale The scientific name is derived from both Latin and Greek. Greek magas foro large, pteron for wing or fin and, at up to 16ft (5m) in length the pectoral flippers of the Humpback whale are the longest appendages of any animal. The rest of the name derives from Latin novus for new and Middle English angaliae for England.

The common name derives from distinctive feature of the dorsal fin, which is reduced to a fleshy hump, or hook, that sits on a sort of platform on the back. The dorsal fin frequently has a step or hump which is accentuated when the whale arches its back to begin a dive. Humpbacks belong to the large group of marine mammals called Cetaceans (see the science page on Melon Headed Whales for more information on this). This group is basically dived into two - those with teeth - Odontocetes, and those without teeth - Mysticetes or baleen whales, there is also an extinct group the Archaeoceti (known only from fossils). The Humpback Whale is a baleen whale; that is a filter feeder, straining plankton or tiny fish through baleen plates. Appearance The Humpback is one of the most energetic and well known of the large whales. It is popular with whale watchers everywhere for its spectacular surface displays - breaching, lobtailing and flipper slapping.

It is also one of the easiest whales to identify; from a distance by its long pectoral flippers, and close up by its knobby head and low stubby dorsal fin. Humpbacks can attain a size of 16m or 52ft (females are usually larger than males) and can weigh up to 30 tons. They are black, blue-black or dark grey and usually have a partially white underside. The broad tail flukes have a ragged trailing edge and, like the pectoral fins, have black and white pigmentation. This pattern of pigmentation is as individual to each humpback whale as are our own fingerprints - no two are ever alike, and so it is a useful tool for distinguishing individuals. Humpback whales have a broad, flat head, which is rounded at the front and constitutes about 1 third of the total body length. The most distinctive feature on the head is a series of knobs or protrubences, each about as big as a ping-pong ball, which cover the flat rostrum (the part of the head in front of the blowholes) and the lower jaw.

These knobs are actually hair follicles and each one has a single, coarse hair up to 11/4 inches or 3cm long growing out of it. The presence of the hairs suggests that knobs have some kind of sensory function. Humpback whales can also be identified by their blow, which is very distinctive - two columns of vapour emitted from the blow holes on the top of the head. The blow is typically about 2.5-3m tall, and forms a bushy plume that is usually wide in relation to its height Humpbacks are seen singly, in pairs or in groups of up to 15 animals. Mothers and calves generally stay close during the first year, but during the mating season they may be joined by male escorts. Distribution Humpback whales are widely distributed over all the oceans from the poles to the topics, but there are distinct seasonal changes in their distribution. As with birds, the change in season induces Baleen whales to migrate. Humpbacks spend the winter in high-latitude, cold-water feeding grounds and summer in low-latitude, warm-water breeding grounds. Of course whether they undertake a north-south or south-north migration depends on which hemisphere they are in.

In the southern hemisphere - which is where we have seen Humpback whales, they basically make a south-north migration between the cold-water feeding grounds of the summer (November to May) to the tropical breeding areas of winter (June to October). The humpbacks spend the summer in the krill-rich Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica and then they migrate to the breeding areas in New Caledonia, Tonga and Polynesia (Dr Michael Poole pers.com.) for the winter. In fact, the greatest confirmed migration of any individual mammal is by a humpback whale -a record previously though to be held by the grey whale; one humpback was identified at feeding grounds near the Artic Peninsula and was seen again at its breeding grounds off the coast of Columbia five months later. The shortest swimming distance between these two locations is 5,176 miles (8,334km). Like other Baleen whales, Humpbacks fast throughout much of their migration, living on their blubber and fat for up to eight months of the year. In the case of a female making a migration the total weight loss may be as much as 50%.

Whales are thought to migrate because birth and early development in warm water is important for the calves, but also because the spread of ice across the Antarctic ocean leads to a paucity of food during the winter. Another idea is that baleen whales may breed away from Antarctic waters to avoid predation on their calves by Orcas, which do not migrate. Humpbacks spend much of the year close to continental shores or oceanic islands (another reason why they are a favourite with whale watchers), where they breed and feed on shallow banks or continental slopes, but they migrate across the open ocean. Humpbacks are reasonably slow swimmers, they can move at 6-12km per hour but during their migratory swims they rest and socialize frequently and swim at an average of about 1.6km (1 mile) per hour. Behaviour Humpbacks are well known for their surface behaviour. Of all the whales they are the ones that breach most frequently, individual Humpbacks have been observed breaching more than a hundred times consecutively. Breaching is the term given to the leaping of Cetaceans.

When breaching they appear to rise out of the water sideways, in slow motion, lifting either half or in some cases their entire body out of the water before crashing down on their back and sending up a huge plume of spray. Several explanations have been proposed as to why whales breach; to dislodged parasites from their skin (because they swim slowly Humpbacks provide a comfortable home for barnacles or whale lice (cyamid crustaceans), to warn away intruders (whether it be humans or other males during the breeding season) or simply out of joie de vivre. It is a visible and audible form of communication and may also be a sign of distress, for example a calf that was separated from its mother was observed breaching for at least two hours. Other surface behaviour of Humpbacks includes headrises and spyhopping. Headrises are where the whales head breaks the water briefly while swimming and spyhopping is similar except the whales head usually lunges out of the water while the animal remains stationary. Whales are thought to spyhop to get a better view of their surroundings, since visibility is greater in air than underwater.

Humpback whales also use their long pectoral fins for communication, in both aggressive and defensive behaviour. Pec-slapping, is where the whale lies on its side and slaps its long pectoral flippers on the surface of the water, producing an audible crack. Pec-slapping can be used gently between courting animals or more aggressively between males competing for a female. Pec-waving is similar behaviour; the flippers are waved above the surface of the water, but are not brought down on the surface of the water with an audible sound. Humpbacks also use their tail flukes to send visible and audible signals - called lobtailing, when the whale slaps its flukes on the surface of the water. It may be used as threatening behaviour, or as a leisurely, almost lazy activity between socializing whales. Humpbacks typically lift their tail flukes before diving. They typically dive for up to 15 minutes, although dives of longer than 20 minutes have been recorded. On surfacing they blow 2 or 4 times between dives, or sometimes 4-8 times if they are diving and feeding.

Vocalization Sound can be far more effective than sight for long distance communication, particularly in water, where it travels five times faster than it does in air. Low frequencies particularly are thought to travel very long distances indeed. Baleen whales have been detected from hundreds of miles away and it is thought that even distances of thousands of miles are possible. Humpbacks are record breakers in the world of Cetaceans. Male humpback whales sing the longest and most complex songs in the animal kingdom. The males sing underwater, emitting a series of low frequency moans, whistles, wails, grunts and squeaks. The song itself can have a number of themes, which are sung in a specific order and can last from a couple of minutes to over half an hour. In any single ocean basin the Humpback population will sing the same distinctive song, over time this progressively changes but all the whales manage to keep abreast of the changes. The function of the songs is not completely clear, but since they are mainly produced in the tropical breeding grounds it is thought that they form part of sexual behaviour. They may also help to maintain social order because sometimes they occur in the cold water feeding grounds as well.

How whales make sounds and hear them is not completely known. It is thought that they may produce them with the larynx (the airway leading to the lungs), although they have no vocal cords. How they hear remains a mystery because the ear canal which is open in humans and other mammals is closed by a wax plug in mysticetes. It is speculated that they may use their sinuses to detect the direction of the sound source. Humpback singing Feeding Mysticetes filter feed using baleen plates (hence their other name - Baleen Whales), which hang down from the roof of the mouth. Baleen is made out of keratin (the same material as our fingernails) and is both tough and flexible. Baleen plates are shaped like thin, long triangles, which grow down from the gum (although they are not related to teeth). Internally the baleen is composed of minute elongate tubes that are exposed as hairs along the worn inner edge of the plate. Successive rows of baleen plates are arranged like the teeth of a comb one row along each side of the mouth. Inside the mouth the hairs intertwine, forming a sieve like mat that traps small food particles.

The number, size and colour of baleen varies with different species - Humpbacks have 270-400 plates on each side of their mouth, the largest of which is 70cm long and 30cm wide. Humpbacks feed mainly on small shrimp-like crustaceans called euphausiids, commonly known as krill, other zooplankton and small schooling fish. They have diverse feeding patterns. A single whale may lunge through a swarm of krill taking in great gulps of water and prey. To facilitate this they have a series of external grooves or pleats below the mouth and throat. When gulping they drop the lower jaw, open the mouth wide and the ventral grooves expand producing a huge pouch below the throat. When the mouth closes the water is forced across the baleen plates, which act like a sieve trapping the food and allowing the water to be expelled. Humpbacks also practice synchronized feeding in which several whales may strike at a shoal together.

Another strategy peculiar to Humpbacks is known as bubblenet feeding where a number of whales circle a shoal of prey emitting a steady stream of bubbles, which eventually form a continuous spiral of exhaled air. The gurgling and reflections from these bubbles cause the fish to mill together in a tight bunch. The whales then lunge through the center of the net scooping up the tightly clustered prey. Although there are no accurate estimates it is thought that during the feeding season humpback whales may eat between 200-700kg of food per day, mother and calf Life Cycle For Cetaceans, single births are the norm, and the gestation period for Humpbacks is 12 months. Female humpbacks occasionally give birth in successive years, although normally they reproduce at intervals of 2 or more years. Most calves are thought to be born tail first, with the blow holes being last to emerge so that the calf does not inhale too much water. Once born the mother guides the calf to the surface for its first breath. The calf is typically one third the length of its mother, in the case of humpbacks 4.5-5m long and weighs about 1-2 tons.

During the first few weeks of its life, the calf stays in close physical contact with its mother. New born calves are defenseless and require constant feeding at first. They are fed through a pair of teats concealed in slits along the body of the female. As the calf grows the feeding bouts become longer but less frequent. Humpbacks feed their calves for 11-12 months on incredibly rich milk containing 40% fat. The young are gradually weaned after about a year when they are 8-9m long. Juveniles are then left to make their own way in the world. Sexual maturity, which is related to body size usually occurs at around 5 to 7 years. How long whales live is not clearly known, although it is thought that some of the largest whales may survive for up to 100 years. Conservation Because of their tendency to concentrate in summer and winter breeding and feeding grounds, often near the coast, Humpbacks were easy pray for shore based whalers and they were severely depleted everywhere. In the nineteenth century there were probably about 100,00 Humpbacks in the southern oceans, today there are believed to be only about 2,500.

Humpback Whales were given worldwide protection in 1966, but their recovery since then has been slow. References/Acknowledgements Leatherwood and Reeves (1983) The Sierra Handbook of Whales and Dolphins Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce, Gill (1998) Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises; The Nature Company Guides. Weldon Owen Pty Limited Many thanks to Dr Michael Poole (CRIOBE) for his constructive comments and for showing us humpback whales in the field. This page will be updated if I receive further information Dr. Janet Fromeyer What do you call a baby whale? | Reference.com What do you call a baby whale? A: Quick Answer A baby whale is a calf, his mother is a cow and his father is a bull, and together, the family is a pod. Baby whales grow in the mother's uterus from 10 to 18 months, depending on the species. A calf receives nutrients in utero through an umbilical cord.

KILLER WHALES (Orcinus orca) - Birth & Care of Young Birth & Care of Young Gestation Killer whale gestation length averages 17 months, and ranges from 15.7 to 18 months at zoological parks. Birth Seasons Calves are born throughout the year, with no statistical evidence for birth seasons. However, while males produced sperm throughout the year, peak testosterone and sperm production corresponded to months from March to June in North American zoological facilities. Specific regions may have peak birth months. For example, in the northeast Pacific Ocean, many calves are born between October and March. Calving Just one calf is born at a time. Calves are born in the water. Most deliveries observed have been tail-first, but head-first deliveries also have been observed. Based on limited data collected from populations at sea and in zoological facilities, a female may bear a calf every 3 to 5 years. In some cases, a female may not have another calf for 10 years. Most deliveries observed have been tail-first. Head-first deliveries also have been observed.

Calves at Birth Size estimates of SeaWorld-born killer whales suggest that newborn calves are about 2.6 m (8.5 ft.) long and 120 to 160 kg (265-353 lb.). In the first few days after birth, the dorsal fin and tail flukes are flexible and pliable. They gradually stiffen. The light areas of some young killer whales may be creamy white to pale yellow or tan rather than white. They usually turn white by the end of the first year, though some killer whales retain the yellowish color into adulthood. Nursing Most killer whale calves born at SeaWorld generally nurse for about a year, but may continue to nurse occasionally for as long as two years. This corresponds with observations in the wild. Fat is an efficient source of energy to drive a calf's high metabolism. Killer whale milk is very rich in fat. The fat content of killer whale milk fluctuates as the calf develops. High-fat milk is an adaptation for calves to be able to quickly build a thick, insulating layer of blubber. A whale calf suckles from nipples concealed in abdominal mammary slits.

Calves nurse for about 5 to 10 seconds at a time, several times an hour, 24 hours a day. Calves nurse below water, close to the surface. The mother glides in a horizontal position with her tail arched, and the calf swims on its side with its mouth on the right or left mammary gland. Killer whale calves observed at SeaWorld began nursing several hours after birth. First successful nursing attempts ranged from 1.8 to 29.3 hours after birth. Calves nurse for about 5 to 10 seconds at a time, several times an hour, 24 hours a day. Nursing frequency peaks the first day or two following birth, at about 45 minutes total average nursing time. As a calf becomes more adept at nursing and obtains more milk at each feeding, nursing time decreases dramatically to 10 minutes per day or less after three weeks and to 5 minutes or less by 2 months. At SeaWorld, it's possible that first-time mothers may learn how to nurse their young by observing this behavior in other mother whales. Additionally, trainers teach them how to respond when their calf attempts to nurse.

Calf Development Most calves grow about 64 cm (25 in.) during their first year, and they can gain about 400 kg (882 lb.). They grow about 53 cm (21 in.) during their second year. To conserve energy, the calf swims in the slipstream of its mother. Births at SeaWorld Killer whales have been born at SeaWorld parks in San Diego, San Antonio, and Orlando. SeaWorld's killer whale breeding program is the most successful in the world. Studying SeaWorld's killer whales, scientists have learned a great deal about killer whale reproductive biology and calf development. The data they've gathered from killer whale calves and their mothers could not have been obtained without close daily interaction and observation. In September 1985 a female killer whale calf was born at SeaWorld Orlando. The calf, named Kalina, thrived and reached adulthood. She is the first killer whale successfully bred, born, and raised in a zoological environment. In February 1993 at SeaWorld San Antonio, Kalina had a calf of her own — the first second-generation killer whale calf born in a zoological park.

To date, more than 30 calves have been successfully born and raised throughout SeaWorld's collection of killer whales. SeaWorld experts have developed techniques for artificially inseminating killer whales. Artificial insemination (AI) occurs when semen that has been collected from a male is placed into a female's reproductive tract. The first killer whale born as a result of artificial insemination was born at SeaWorld San Diego in September 2001. The male calf was named Nakai. SeaWorld experts developed an intrauterine insemination technique using specialized medical instruments. They also developed a methodology for the collection and storage of viable killer whale semen. Veterinarians monitored daily urine samples to track hormone levels in adult female killer whales. This, combined with ovarian ultrasound examination, indicated when a female was about to ovulate. This information helped experts pinpoint the best time to introduce the semen. AI successes at SeaWorld require collaboration from SeaWorld veterinarians, killer whale trainers, animal keepers, and laboratory specialists. A critical component of a successful breeding program is maintaining genetic variability. Without AI, this meant transporting whales by plane between the SeaWorld parks, pairing different females with males, and hoping for successful mating. With the development of AI, managing genetic diversity has become easier.

Instead of transporting an adult whale, semen samples can be sent from one park to another. Whales | Basic Facts About Whales | Defenders of Wildlife Whales Basic Facts About Whales Whales belong to the order cetacea, which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Whales are divided into two suborders: baleen and toothed whales. Baleen whales have a comb-like fringe, called a baleen, on the upper jaw, which is used to filter plankton, as well as small fish and crustaceans. They are the largest species of whale. Toothed whales have teeth and prey on fish, squid, other whales and marine mammals. They sense their surrounding environment through echolocation. Like all mammals, whales breathe air into lungs, are warm-blooded, feed their young milk and have some (although very little) hair. Their bodies resemble the streamlined form of a fish, while the forelimbs or flippers are paddle-shaped. The tail fins, or flukes, enable whales to propel themselves through the water. Most species of whale have a fin on their backs known as a dorsal fin. Did You Know? Whales are mammals, and as such, they have hair—though very little of it!

Beneath the skin lies a layer of fat called blubber. It serves as an energy reservoir and also as insulation. Whales breathe through blowholes, located on the top of the head so the animal can remain submerged. Baleen whales have two blowholes,while toothed whales have one. Diet The diet of whales depends on their species; it can range from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. Population Whales live in all of the world's oceans, though their specific range varies by species. Behavior Many whales, especially baleen whales, tend to migrate long distances from their cold-water feeding grounds to warm-water breeding grounds each year. They travel alone or in groups, or pods, on their annual migrations. Toothed whales often hunt in groups, migrate together and share young-rearing duties. Did You Know? The Blue Whale is the largest known mammal that has ever lived, and the largest living animal, at up to 110 feet long and 150 tons. Most whales are quite active in the water. They jump high, or breach, out of the water and land back in the water.

They also thrust their tails out of the water and slap the water's surface, which is believed to be a warning of danger nearby. Whales also communicate with each other using lyrical sounds. These sounds are extremely loud depending on the species and can be heard for many miles. Because of their environment (and unlike many animals) and because they need to breathe air by coming to the water's surface, whales are conscious breathers, meaning they decide when to breathe. All mammals sleep, including whales, but they cannot afford to fall into an unconscious state for too long, since they need to be conscious to break the surface in order to breathe Reproduction Mating season: Varies depending on the species. Gestation: 9-15 months, depending on the species. Number of offspring: 1 calf. Nursing time is long (more than one year for many species), which is associated with a strong bond between mother and young. This strategy of reproduction spawns few offspring, but provides each with a high probability of survival in the wild. Threats to Whales The effects of climate change will be felt by most marine creatures, and whales are certainly not excluded.

Sea level rise and changes in sea temperature will leave whales quite vulnerable, and they may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive. Arctic and antarctic whale habitat faces a particular threat from climate change. Whale food sources will also face challenges, such as a decline in krill population, which is the main food source for many large whale species. What Defenders Is Doing to Help Whales Defenders is currently hard a work on behalf of two highly endangered North American whale species. Learn more about our efforts to save the Cook Inlet beluga whale and the North Atlantic right whale . Whaling is one of the biggest threats to whales. By the middle of the 20th century, whaling had left many populations severely depleted. The International Whaling Commission introduced a moratorium which continues to this day. However, there are still some exceptions to this moratorium. This allows countries like Norway, Iceland and Japan and the aboriginal communities of Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada to continue their annual whale hunts. In addition, several species of small whales are caught as bycatch in fisheries for other species. Exposure to contaminants and pollution also threaten whales.

Scientists also believe that underwater sonar testing by the navies of various countries leads to whale beachings. Mass whale beachings occur in many species, mostly beaked whales that use echolocation systems for deep diving. Whales are also threatened by climate change because higher water temperatures in the Antarctic Ocean are reducing populations of krill, a small-shrimp-like crustacean that is the main food source for some whale species. Get More Information

Question: What name is given to a young whale?
Answer: Calf