The oldest known orca name is Granny

Granny, also known as J2, is an orca, or killer whale, estimated by scientists to be 103 years old, making her the oldest known orca alive. The average lifespan of a wild female orca is 60 to 80 years. Granny had been captured with the rest of her pod in 1967 but was too old […]

Killer whale prey on deer and moose swimming between islands

June 20, 2014 araho Did you know that Killer whale, whale

Killer whales are very sophisticated and effective predators of marine mammals. Thirty-two cetacean species have been recorded as killer whale prey, from examining either stomach contents, scarring on the prey’s body, or feeding activity. Groups even attack larger cetaceans such as minke whales, gray whales, and rarely sperm whales or blue whales. Hunting large whales […]

The world’s loneliest whale

April 10, 2014April 11, 2014 araho Did you know that 52-hertz, whale

The 52-hertz whale is an individual of unidentified whale species, which has been regularly detected in many locations since the 1980s, calling at the very unusual frequency of 52 Hz. This pitch is much higher frequency than that of the Blue Whale (15-20Hz) or Fin Whale (20Hz), whose migration patterns it is most similar to. […]

The Worm Osedax japonicus relies on the skeleton of a dead whale

March 3, 2014 araho Did you know that Osedax japonicus, whale, worm

Osedax japonicus is a species of bathypelagic polychaete tube worm that lives at great depths on the seabed and is able to sustain itself on the bones of a dead whale. It was first described in 2006 from a sunken sperm whale carcase near Kyushu, Japan When a whale dies, its carcass falls to the […]

Whale fall

February 7, 2014 araho Did you know that whale, Whale fall

When a whale dies and its carcass falls into the Bathyal or Abyssal zone of the ocean floor, it can sustain a complex localized ecosystem of deep-sea organisms for decades. This is called a “whale fall”. A whale fall is the carcass of a cetacean that has fallen into the Bathyal or Abyssal zone on […]

A male orca named Keiko showed up in fjord seeking contact with human

January 10, 2014April 27, 2014 araho Did you know that Keiko, orca, whale

Keiko (earlier Siggi) (c. 1976 – December 12, 2003) was a male orca who is best known for portraying Willy in the 1993 film Free Willy and a failed attempt to reintegrate the whale into the wild. Ocean Futures left the Keiko project in late 2001. The Free Willy-Keiko Foundation and the The Humane Society […]

The Blue Whale is the heaviest animal to have EVER lived

The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived

October 31, 2013October 31, 2013 araho Did you know that blue whale, whale

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). At 30 metres (98 ft) in length and 170 tonnes (190 short tons) or more in weight, it is the largest known animal ever to have existed. Long and slender, the blue whale’s body can be various shades of […]

An elephant weighs less than a blue whale’s tongue

June 9, 2013April 27, 2014 Anya Did you know that blue whale, whale

An elephant weighs less than a blue whale’s tongueThe title lyric of the old Billie Holiday standard asks the question “Am I Blue”? if you’re a Blue whale, the largest creature ever to inhabit the earth, the answer is…sometimes. Blue whales only appear true blue under water, grayish on the surface. “Huh?,”” you ask, “what’s […]