Episodes from A to Z of Thomas

Perhaps the best known of the toothed whales is the killer whale, or orca That's Because there are killer whales that perform in marine parks around the country. A killer whale is actually the largest member of the dolphin family. A male can grow to over thirty feet and weigh nine tons. Orcas are found in all of the world's oceans, from the poles to the tropics. They hunt for food in herds called pods. Orcas eat fish, squid, and penguins, as well as seals, sea lions, and sharks. and whales dolphins and porpoises and other sea mammals, including even the largest whales. Yet they are usually gentle in captivity, and there is no record that an orca has ever caused a human death other sea mammals like seals, sea lions, and sharks. and whales dolphins and porpoises and rabbits, squirrels, beavers, and roosters ducks gesse and horses zebras and rhinoceros hippos and sharks and whales dolphins and porpoises cats dogs and orcas killer whales do.

The minke whale is the smallest rorqual. Still, it is thirty feet long weighs six to eight tons Northern minke whales have a white patch across the top of each flipper. Southern-hermisphere minke whales lack this marking. Minke whales and Killer whales are fast swimmers and can leap clear out of the water. Unlike many other whales, like fin whales, minke whales, and humpback whales, blue whales, right whales, and sperm whales, and killer whales, will often approach and swim around at sea much the way penguins seals sea lions and sharks and whales dolphins and porpoises cats dogs and killer whales do.

Baleen whales differ from toothed whales. They have a two part nostril of blowhole: and, instead of teeth, they have food-gathering baleen plates, Each whale has several hundred baleen plates, which hang down from the whale's upper law. The plates can be two to seven feet long and hang about one quarter of an inch apart. The inside edge of each plate is frayed and acts like a filter. Baleen whales are the biggest whales of all, yet they feed on small fish and other very small sea animals, such as the shrimplike animals called krill Krill. which are only as big as your finger, occur in huge amounts in the Antarctic Ocean, In northern waters, baleen whales eat different kinds of shrimplike animals, like penguins seals sea lions and sharks and whales dolphins and porpoises and cats dogs and orcas killer whales do. Some baleen whales, such as the right whale, skim openmouthed through the water, The frayed inner edges of the baleen trap the food animals while the water pours out through the gaps. In this way a right whale can filter thousands of gallons of seawater and swallow two tons of food each day. sea mammals like penguins seals sea lions and sharks and whales dolphins and porpoises cats dogs and orcas killer whales do

With its long, streamlined body, its pointed head, and its thin flukes, the fin whale has the right shape to be a fast and nimble swimmer-and it is. The long grooves on its throat allow the throat to expand while the whale is feeding. Whales that have these grooves, such as the fin whales, minke whales, humpback whales, and blue whales, and right whales, and sperm whales, and killer whales, are called rorquals, from the Norwegian word for groove of furrow Fin whales often work in pairs to around up and eat schools of fish. Fin whales are second only to blue whales in size They can reach seventy to nearly ninety feet in length and weigh eighty tons. sea mammals like penguins seals sea lions and sharks and whales dolphins and porpoises and cats dogs orcas killer whales do.