Whales • Whale watching

Whales are fascinating creatures. Their history of development is ancient, as they have been colonizing the world's oceans for around 60 million years. They are extremely intelligent, and some species are incredibly large as well. Impressive animals and the real rulers of the seas.

Whales - mammals of the sea!

People used to believe that whales were fish. This erroneous name is still used in the German language to this day. The whale is still often referred to as the "whale". Nowadays it is common knowledge that the impressive animals are huge marine mammals and not fish. Like all mammals, they breathe over water and feed their young with milk. The teats are hidden in a fold of skin. Whale milk is very high in fat and partly pink in color. In order not to waste valuable food, the mother whale injects her milk into the mouth of the whale calf with pressure.

What are baleen whales?

The order of the whales is divided zoologically into the two sub-orders of the baleen whale and the toothed whale. Baleen whales do not have teeth, they have whales. These are fine horn plates that hang down from the whale's upper jaw and act like a kind of filter. Plankton, krill and small fish are fished with the mouth open. Then the water is pressed out again through the beards. The prey remains and is swallowed. Blue whales, humpback whales, gray whales and minke whales belong to this subordination.

What are toothed whales?

Toothed whales have real teeth, as the name suggests. The most famous toothed whale is the orca. It is also called the killer whale or the great killer whale. Orcas eat fish and hunt seals. They live up to their reputation as hunters. The narwhal also belongs to the toothed whales. The male narwhal has a tusk up to 2 meters long, which he wears as a spiral horn. That is why it is called the “unicorn of the seas”. Another well-known toothed whale is the common porpoise. It loves shallow and cool waters and can be found in the North Sea, among other places.

Why is "Flipper" is a whale?

What many do not know, the dolphin family also belongs to the subordination of the toothed whale. With around 40 species, dolphins are actually the largest whale family. Anyone who has seen a dolphin has seen a whale from a zoological perspective! The bottlenose dolphin is the best-known species of dolphin. Zoology is sometimes confusing and exciting at the same time. Some dolphins are called whales. The pilot whale, for example, is a species of dolphin. The well-known killer whale also belongs to the dolphin family. Who would have thought? So Flipper is a whale and an orca is actually a dolphin too.