Whales

The marine family of mammals known as cetaceans are air breathing, warm blooded, and bear live young; nursing them on milk. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises makeup this group and play an important role in the well-being of our marine eco-system. Many international conservation groups are working hard to ensure that these species continue to swim in our seas for many generations to come. Hunting, collisions with ships, the affects of pollution upon their habitat, and bycatch ( being caught in nets intended for other fish) are all huge threats to their future survival.

There are less than 100 Northern Pacific Right Whales left. They are threatened by oil and gas exploration in their habitat. Whales are classed as predators, but their food ranges from microscopic plankton to very large fish. They were once a great prize to whalers. Their layer of blubber, necessary for their energy and insulation, was used in many ways for people to survive.

The Blue Whale is believed to be the largest animal to have ever lived. The longest whale ever recorded by scientists measured 98 ft. in length and estimated to have weighed 200 tons. Their long, slender body can be various shades of bluish-gray and can consume 8,000 lbs. of krill and copepods in a single day. The largest known concentration, consisting of about 2,000 individuals, is the North-East Pacific population that ranges from Alaska to Costa Rica; commonly seen from California in summers.

Click

Get Involved > Travel with WWF

Help make a difference for our ocean planet

Beluga whales are vanishing from the 8,000 sq.-mile coastal ecosystem of Cook Inlet in Alaska, due to pressures from pollution and increased ship traffic. A current survey shows fewer than 300 Belugas now remain, a rate of 4.1 % per year.

Critically Threatened