The Greenland whale is an interesting marine giant

The Greenland whale is a mammal belonging to the Cetacea group, the family Smooth whales. In Latin it is called Balaena mysticetus. There was a time when the populations of these animals lived in the oceanic expanses of the entire Northern Hemisphere. However, today they are found only in the Bering and Okhotsk seas, in the Spitsbergen archipelago, Davis Strait and Hudson Bay. According to scientists, the total number of these mammals does not exceed 10,000 individuals.

The bowhead whale in size is second only to the blues. Its length can exceed 20 m, of which the head is the third part. The weight can reach up to 130 tons. It is interesting that females are larger than males. Color predominantly dark, only under the lower jaw there is a large white spot.

The structure of the oral cavity is specific, related to the manner of nutrition. On the curved jaws are numerous plates (up to 400 pcs.) With a height of more than 4 m and a width of less than 0.3 m, called whale whiskers. Feeds on the Greenland whale with plankton and small fish. Getting food, he swims with his mouth open. All that has got into the mouth, lingers on the plates, scraped by the tongue and swallowed. The mass of daily eaten food is estimated at 1.8 tons.

His pectoral fins are short, broadened, rounded. The skin of the smooth is the bowhead whale. The photos presented in the article demonstrate the absence of horny growths and attached crustaceans. Subcutaneous fat in an adult is about 70 cm. It is very important, since it neutralizes excess water pressure when immersed and protects from hypothermia. The temperature of their bodies is the same as in humans (they are also mammals). Eyes small with a thickened cornea. From the action of salt water they are protected by special glands secreting an oil-containing liquid. Vision in the water is not important, on the surface is better.

The bowhead whale can dive to a depth of 0.2 km and float after 40 minutes. The time spent under water depends on the air reserve in the lungs. Its nostrils are located on the vertex, they open only at the time of inspiration-exhalation, the muscles of the nasal canal prevent water from entering the lungs. The exhalation of the whale begins at the surface of the water, the result is a fountain, whose height can exceed 10 m. The need to breathe in air causes these mammals to pierce an ice thickness of 25 cm.

There is no auricle, but the hearing is very well developed. The inner ear perceives both sound and ultrasonic vibrations. The range of sounds is wide. The Greenland whale has a sonar, which makes it possible to navigate well in the oceanic stratum. The time between the sound produced and its return indicates to the animal the distance to a certain object on the way.

Sometimes a polar whale (also called this giant) jumps out of the water, slaps the fins along the body and plunges into one of the sides. Such attractions occur during the migration period and during the mating season.

Reproduction is not well understood, although it is known that the pregnancy lasts about 13 months. The calf is born 4 meters high. For a year he eats milk from his mother. Sexually mature whales are 20 years old. They live on average 40 years.