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Whale Research Paper

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Whale is the common name for a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, excluding dolphins and porpoises, so to zoologists the grouping is paraphyletic. The whales comprise the extant families Cetotheriidae (whose only living member is the pygmy right whale), Balaenopteridae (the rorquals), Balaenidae (right whales), Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale), Monodontidae (belugas and narwhals), Physeteridae (the sperm whale), Kogiidae (the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale), and Ziphiidae (the beaked whales). There are 40 extant species of whales. The two parvorders of whales, Mysticeti and Odontoceti, are thought to have split apart around 34 million years ago. Whales, …show more content…

Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the females are larger than males. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not as flexible or agile as seals, whales can travel at up to 20 knots. Balaenopterids use their throat pleats to expand the mouth to take in gulps of water. Balaenids have heads that can make up 40% of their body mass to take in water. Odontocetes have conical teeth designed for catching fish or squid. Mysticetes have a well developed sense of "smell", whereas odontocetes have well-developed hearing − their hearing, that is adapted for both air and water, is so well developed that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold …show more content…

The North Atlantic right whales nearly became extinct in the twentieth century, with a population low of 450, and the North Pacific gray whale population is ranked Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Besides whaling, they also face threats from bycatch and marine pollution. The meat, blubber and baleen of whales have traditionally been used by indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Whales have been depicted in various cultures worldwide, notably by the Inuit and the coastal peoples of Vietnam and Ghana, who sometimes hold whale funerals. Whales occasionally feature in literature and film, as in the great white whale of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Small whales, such as belugas, are sometimes kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks, but breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. Whale watching has become a form of tourism around the

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Director, writer, and producer, Gabriella Cowperthwaite, in her documentary, Blackfish, describes the shameless hunting and treatment of killer whales. Cowperthwaite’s purpose is to persuade us into opening our eyes to the reality of what we are doing to killer whales by confining them in captivity. She invents an emotionally wrenching tone in order to transmit to the adult viewers that living in captivity may not be acceptable life for the whales. The film effectively showed that the whales should not be kept in captivity by giving the audience examples of their signs of aggression and displays of emotion. Cowperthwaite begins her documentary by showing how killer whales can become barbaric when held captive.

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Whale talk, a book about a teen named tj, who struggled with family values and friends. With a little courage, and an oddball group of kids on a swim team, they learn that if you keep on going, you can and will succeed. Chris crutcher, the author of this book, is a special writer. The reason i say that is due to the fact that, he writes his books using examples of modern day themes and situations. Crutcher wrote whale talk around a few themes/messages that he wanted to pursue, and one of the messages was that if you have perseverance, you will keep on going no matter what situation you are in, and that is exactly what crutcher showed in his book, whale talk.

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The first reason why I think should not be in captivity is of what happens in their tank. The first piece of evidence from the PETA practical “Aquariums and Marine Parks” is that since the tanks for the orcas are usually small for them, they get insane because of the echolocation they use. This makes me think that since their fin sometimes curves, that they would get injured while swimming. In addition, this might make the whale die faster than what they are supposed to live to. Other people might say it might non’t affect it

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Andre Cole Ricardo Acosta G. English 101 September 22, 2015 Do Killer Whales Actually Belong in Captivity? Ever since wild animals such as Killer Whales have been captured and kept in theme parks and zoos as amusement, there have been issues on whether they should or shouldn’t be kept in captivity. Killer Whales, otherwise commonly referred to as Orcas, have regularly been taken away from the sea at a very young age so they can be trained, raised and kept in theme parks for exhibition. Although theme parks no longer capture whales from the wild, they are still bred in captivity for public display at marine parks such as Sea World (Gorman).

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This film about these extremely diverse mammals shows true footage of the whales and what they are capable of in captivity. It also talks about a lot of wrongs that are done to the whales in captivity by people who were there and done it or witnessed it themselves. The film gives out a lot of good information and statistics that have been proven by others as well. Because this source focuses on captivity and the poor treatment of whales, as will my paper, It will come to great use when the time comes to use

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Whales in captivity have become too much for humans to handle. Many of the pools that they are kept in are far to small to accommodate their need for exercise. The small pools can also cause a large amount of stress for these animals as well. Sometimes these animals, like dolphins, are kept in captivity for research. After being in captivity for too long

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Orca killer whales Killer whales, also known as orcas, are the largest members of the dolphin family and the top predator in their ecosystem. The Orca killer whale is very well known because of their unique colorway. They aren't the biggest in the sea but they are at the top of the food chain which means they are apex predators. The name “killer whale” is because they attack whale calves and whale mothers, in pods. Pods usually consist of five to thirty Orcas to make sure they can get the job done.

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We can 't be certain that whale populations can survive large-scale hunting as well as the other daily threats they face. Ban or no ban, whaling remains inhumane and whales are unsuitable for use by humans in this way.” On The Nature Publishing Group they say that “ Major disadvantages of whaling include the potential extinction of some whale species, the unsafe levels of mercury that whale meat can contain and the potential harm to ecosystems that removing whales can cause. In addition, whale watching is a lucrative business in many parts of the world, and whaling could have an impact on that activity.

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549 Words | 3 Pages

However, lack of information on past populations makes it difficult to compare the current recovery in this species, to that of pre-exploitation abundance. Estimates based on genetic diversity suggest they are still only a fraction of their pre-whaling numbers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the humpback whale’s role in the oceans, their populations, and the need for it’s conservation and the manor in which to do

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The blackfish documentary says that keeping whales in captivity is unhealthy and not safe for humans. 30 trainers were injured or died from the aggression of whales in captivity. This fact is horrible because they killing people out of frustration and boredom. Park trainers say that claps dorsal fin is normal for a male whales in captivity. This fact is false their fins calps because they 're not traveling far there in

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Cetacea are one of the most unique orders of mammals. They include the largest marine animal that has ever lived which is the blue whale, the intelligent dolphins, the tusked narwhals and the singing humpback whales – almost eighty living species in all. Even though a lot of hunting has been done to the family of Cetacea, observations has been dictated that its number are slowly increasing. The oldest fossil whales are grouped together just for the convenience of others.

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Whale sharks are protected species in 13 of 100 countries that they visit every year and is classified as a vulnerable species (Rogers M.

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In 2015, Iceland government allowed to hunt 154 fin whales and 229 minke whales, this is set by the whales is very visible in Iceland. Secondly, according to report published in 30 September on the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. That Icelanders hunt only 29 minke whales. However, the whale's meat was readily available in Iceland.

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Some ethnic group believes that it is a cultural right to hunt whales. In Prehistoric cultures were hunting whales at least 3000 years ago (2008), whale hunting were commenced by the primordial ethnic at least three thousand years ago. It is clear that whale hunting is not just done by generation nowadays but has already been done by people in the past. As a whole, whale hunting has become more and more conventional. It seems like nothing is wrong for hunting whales from the ocean.

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