Whale Allegedly Protects Diver From Shark, But Questions Remain
Published 14 Jan 2018, 14:51 GMT, Updated 14 Jan 2018, 17:21 GMT
A southern right whale encounters a diver on the sandy sea bottom off the Auckland Islands, New Zealand. Adults can reach lengths of 55 feet and weigh up to 60 tons.
Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic CreativeHumpback whales were hunted to near extinction, with numbers dropping by more than 90 percent before a 1966 ban allowed the species to bounce back.
Photograph by Mauricio Handler, National Geographic CreativeA group of narwal gather en masse at an Arctic ice floe to eat cod. The animal's tusk is actually a tooth that can grow more than nine feet long; it has baffled people for centuries.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic CreativeAlso known as white whales, belugas (pictured, an animal at St. Lawrence Marine Park in Quebec) live in the Arctic. Calves are born gray or even brown and only fade to white as they become sexually mature around five years of age.
Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic CreativePilot whales swim off Kona, Hawaii. Oceanic whitetip sharks sometimes follow pods of these whales, possibly eating scraps of prey left behind.
Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic CreativeAn, also known as a killer whale, herds herring into a tight group near Andenes, Norway. Largest of the dolphins, this predator also feasts on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic CreativeBelugas communicate with echolocation, a built-in sonar that allows them to sense objects nearby. They do this via their melon, a fatty organ in the center of their forehead that gives the skull its distinctive shape.
Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic CreativeThe narwhal’s iconic tusk is actually a repurposed canine tooth. This complex sensory organ transmits stimuli from ocean water to the brain.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic CreativeIntensely social creatures, orcas hunt in pods, family groups of up to 40 individuals. The species can be found from the polar regions to the Equator.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic CreativeMinke feed near the surface of Cashes Ledge, a rich region of marine biodiversity within the Gulf of Maine. This species is still hunted: In 2016, Japanese whalers killed 333 minke whales—including more than 200 pregnant females.
Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic CreativeThe bowhead, which lives in chilly northern waters, can live up to 200 years. A cold environment causes a low body temperature, which in turn means slow metabolism—and thus less damage to tissues.
Like the orca, the long-finned pilot whale is a large dolphin that forms family pods. The highly social species earned its moniker from their tendency to follow a leader, or "pilot," during lengthy migrations.
Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic CreativeSperm whales (pictured off the Azores) were intensely hunted for a fatty substance in their heads, called spermaceti in their heads, used as an oil and lubricant in the 1800s.
Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic CreativeHumpback whales (pictured, an animal near Antarctica) emit moans, howls, cries, and other complex noises that can continue for hours. The 1979 "Songs of the Humpback Whale" album made the animals' "songs" famous.
Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographci Creative