Latest news with #DwarfSpermWhale
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Dwarf sperm whale: The 'pint-size whales' that gush gallons of intestinal fluid when surprised
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS Name: Dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) Where it lives: Tropical and temperate waters around the world. What it eats: Deep-sea squid, octopuses, crustaceans and fish. Dwarf sperm whales have an unusual way to protect themselves if they come under attack. When they feel threatened, these tiny whales release their intestinal fluid, turning the water red. Growing up to 8 feet 10 inches (2.7 meters) long, they are the smallest species of whale. They are even smaller than some dolphins, such as Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) which can reach 13 feet (4 meters) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), which grow to around 12 feet (3.8 meters). These animals look so similar to pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) that it's challenging to tell the two apart. They were even believed to be the same species until 1966. At the surface, they don't usually approach boats, which makes them very hard to study. The life of these toothed whales is typically unhurried. According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, they tend to travel at a steady pace, and drift gently back under the water when they're ready to go back to deeper waters. They only dive suddenly when they're startled. If this happens, they also release their intestinal fluid, potentially in defense or as a reaction to feeling nervous — like a squid releasing ink. Related: Sperm whales drop giant poop bombs to save themselves from orca attack No other whales, except pygmy sperm whales, use this tactic to escape from danger. "Each dwarf sperm whale has a sac filled with dark liquid in its intestine," representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries wrote. "The whale can release more than three gallons [11 liters] of dark, reddish-brown liquid — or ink — from this sac." This cloud darkens the water, making it harder for the predator to see, which helps the tiny whale to make its getaway. Their predators include large sharks and orcas (orcinus orca), and these pint-size whales are also threatened by entanglement, vessel strikes, and pollution. RELATED STORIES —16-foot-long shark bites stranded pygmy whale's head off as human tries to rescue it —$500,000 chunk of 'floating gold' found in dead whale | Live Science —Watch baby Japanese eel escape from stomach of predator in X-ray video Dwarf sperm whales can live to around 22 years old. Although little is known about their social behaviors, they are usually seen in small pods of no more than 16 whales. They prefer deep waters and can dive to over 1,000 feet (300 meters) to find food. They eat a variety of deep-sea squid, octopus, crabs, and fish — using echolocation to track down their prey. They are often found near continental shelves where they have access to lots of their food sources.
Miami Herald
11-02-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Rare 10-foot whale mysteriously washes ashore in Australia, video shows
A rare dwarf sperm whale mysteriously washed ashore in Australia, prompting an official investigation, according to news reports. Beachgoers in Adelaide — a city on the coast of South Australia — stumbled upon the deceased marine mammal on Feb. 8, according to 7NEWS Adelaide. Measuring about 10 feet in length, the stranded carcass was found lying on its side, partially submerged in sand, video footage shows. Rangers from the country's National Parks and Wildlife Service were quickly dispatched to remove the remains. 'To see it washed up on shore, it's really sad,' local resident William Pyke told the outlet. 'It's really hard to know kind of how it ended up here.' A 'thorough investigation' will be conducted to determine a cause of death, according to ABC News Australia. The species — a type of toothed whale and close relative of the pygmy sperm whale — is believed to be a rare visitor to Australian waters. Previous sighting Pyke, a co-owner and operator of the tour boat company Temptation Sailing, said this was not the first time he'd seen the whale. In fact, just two days earlier, he had spotted the animal alive and swimming about two miles offshore, he told ABC. 'During our Wild Dolphin Tour yesterday morning we were completely amazed when we spotted a Dwarf Sperm Whale,' the company said in a Feb. 7 Facebook post. 'Initially, we had no idea what it was, first mistaking it for a large male sea lion in the distance. However, as we got closer we soon (realized) it was definitely something a little more exciting!' Photos posted by the company show the animal, with its distinctive, curved dorsal fin, swimming at the surface. The species has only been documented in the waters off Australia on one occasion, according to the post, and strandings are rare. The marine mammals reside in tropical and temperate parts of the world's oceans, and in the U.S., they are often sighted around the Hawaiian Islands, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Much about the species remains unknown due, in part, to the difficult nature of studying them. 'One fun fact about these guys is that when they're startled they use a similar technique to squid and octopus, releasing a cloud of reddish-brown intestinal fluid as (a defense) mechanism,' the tour boat company's post said. Potential causes of death The animal had some cuts and blood on its underside, Pyke told ABC News Australia, adding that it could have been sick or gotten confused in the shallows. Sean Todd, the director of Allied Whale, a marine mammals research program at College of the Atlantic, told McClatchy News, 'There are many physiological or pathogen-driven reasons why cetaceans might live-strand.' 'Sometimes it may be as simple as a navigational error,' Todd said. 'If the animal has the ability to echolocate, some coastlines can return cryptic echoes, making the beach a sonar trap—as far as the animal knows, they are in open water, but in fact the beach is swallowing.' There could have been behavioral reasons, or it simply could have been weak and old. 'It could be all or some of these acting in concert,' Todd said. 'There is no 'one thing' that unites all strandings in common.' Investigations to determine how a whale died is also a time-consuming process. 'It takes three to four months,' Todd previously told McClatchy News. 'If you're lucky you might get to prove cause of death, but often we don't get to do that.'
