Gray's Beaked Whale example essay topic

There are a great many species of whales inhabiting the sea. Whales are mammals, which breathe air with lungs, have warm blood and bear live young. These animals descended from land mammals about fifty million years ago developing into the various types they are today (Barker, Mark). The scientific name for these creatures is cetacean, which then branches into seven families. Each of the families goes by a name, the gray whale, the rorqual, the right, the sperm and the white whale. The other families are the beaked as well as the killer and pilot whale groups (Cetacea).

Each of the families contain a certain number of whales belonging to a similar or related species. The gray whale group consists of the solitary gray whale. The gray whale is found between the Arctic and Mexico during the spring, summer and fall until its migration south for the winter months. There are approximately 23,000 gray whales in existence, residing mainly in the north (Katona, Steven). The second group are the rorqual whales, they are baleen whales which have long, sleek bodies, a median notch and a small dorsal fin. The whales belonging to this family are the blue whale, the fin, the humpback, minke and the sei whale.

The blue whale is found throughout every ocean in the world, during the summer months they migrate to the polar regions and in the winter they retreat to warmer seas. The fin whale is found throughout every ocean in the world, from the poles to the tropics. The humpback migrates seasonally between the Arctic and the Antarctic oceans. The minke whale has a wide range of locations from the polar edge to the tropics.

Finally, the sei whale, which is found in virtually every ocean and sea in the world, but they favor warmer waters (Cetacea). The traits belonging to the right whale group are long baleen for feeding, no dorsal fin and a large, arched jaw. Included in the right whale group is the bowhead whale, the northern right, the southern right and the pygmy right whale. The bowhead prefers the colder ocean waters of the north.

The northern right whale is found in the northern hemisphere and the southern right whale favors the warmer waters for breeding and colder during the winter months. The pygmy right whale is found only in a small section of the sea near the South Pole. Though this small area does cover both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (Barker, Matthew). The next family is the sperm whale group, they have large teeth as well as a large head and body, usually gray in color. The sperm whales include the dwarf sperm whale, the sperm whale, as well as the pygmy sperm whale.

The sperm whale is found in all oceans of the world, although they prefer deeper waters. The dwarf sperm whale is widely distributed throughout the tropical and temperate seas (Cetacea). The white whales are a toothed mammal, small or medium in sized with a pale gray or white coloring. These whales include the narwhal, the beluga and the irrawady whale. The narwhal is commonly found from the Canadian Arctic east to Central Russia. The Beluga whale is often found in the ice-free seas of the north, the irrawady is often found here as well (Barker, Matthew).

The beaked whales are recognized by their pronounced, sharp beak and small body. They are unlike any other whale in fact little is known about them and their habitat. A few members of this group include Andrew's beaked whale, Arnoux's beaked whale, Baird's beaked whale, and Bahamond's beaked whale. In addition to those whales there is Blainville's beaked whale, Cuvier's beaked whale, Gervia's beaked whale and gink o-toothed whale.

Andrew's beaked whale inhabits the waters of New Zealand and Australia. Gray's beaked whale exists all over the southern hemisphere, from New Zealand to Australia. Bahamond's beaked whale is only known to exist in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, west of Chile. True's beaked whale is found on the east coast of America and Canada from Nova Scotia down to the Bahamas True's beaked whale can also be seen on the west coast of Scotland, Ireland, France as well as south of Africa. (Cetacea). The last family is the pilot and killer whale group, they are recognized by their small, sharp teeth used for obtaining food.

These whales come in a wide variety of unique colors and patterns, the killer whale is a perfect example (Katona, Steven). Within this group there is the orca, the false killer whale, the pygmy killer whale. Other whales in this group are the melon-headed whale, the long finned pilot and the short finned pilot whale. The orca is found in all oceans and seas of the world, having the ability to survive in both warm and cold waters. The pygmy killer whale is found in much of the warm waters of the world, including the Mediterranean Sea (Cetacea).

Throughout the years man's influence and growth has been dependent on this earth and all that it holds. As a result of our past wrongs many of these whales are endangered. There are many conservation societies out there which devote there time to do just that but we have to work together to keep them alive.