Diving is a great hobby, not just because you can forget all problems when you are deep in the water, but also because you can be eye to eye with fantastic animals. One of those animals is the sperm whale. Let us introduce sperm whales to you.s
Who is a sperm whale?
We can see sperm whales mainly in the Azores, Dominica, Guadeloupe, but also in Australia. The sperm whale is one of the largest cetaceans you will have the chance to meet. Contrary to popular belief, the sperm whale is not a whale. Indeed, it is part of the dolphin family (or odontocetes) characterized by teeth, unlike whales which have baleen.
Is a sperm whale a dolphin?
The sperm whale is part of the dolphin family (or odontocetes) characterized by teeth, unlike whales that have baleen. Each tooth is 20 cm long and has about 1 kg!
Some key characteristics
That animal is an excellent diver, they hold the world record for apnea depth: 3000m, it can stay 90 minutes without coming to the surface. Its first breath, when it comes out of the water, rises to more than 3m, it’s a veritable explosion!
The height of a male can reach 18m, but its average height is 14 m; the females are smaller. It eats mainly giant squids living in the Abyss. Old sperm whales are said to have many scars on their heads, testifying to fierce fights with these squids.
Lifespan is about 60 to 70 years.
Moby Dick
The sperm whale reminds us all of the story of Moby Dick, even if hunting is now prohibited, the number of individuals has fallen a lot. They have a huge, somewhat square head, which contains an oily fat called spermaceti or white whale (hence its English name: Sperm Whale). This oil was highly sought after by hunters.
Ambergris, mainly used for making perfumes, is a stone that forms in the intestines of sperm whales. Not very dense, they collect this stone floating on the surface of the sea. We mainly find it in the southern hemisphere and it can reach up to 300kg.
This giant of the seas fascinates, it is the most mythical creature of the oceans, which is surrounded by many legends.
Where can you see sperm whales?
Mainly in the Azores, Dominica, Guadeloupe, but also in Australia. So, if you want to dive and see eye to eye with that sea creature, you know where you need to go!