Whales are today important to humans because they are among the most intelligent mammals on the planet and therefore an important subject of study. Historically, in less enlightened days, whales were considered economically important because they provided much of the oil that lit domestic lamps in the home in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Whales seem to have figured in human myths and stories for many hundreds of years. The King James Bible contains the famous story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale, but interestingly, a similar story also appears in the Koran.
The hunting of whales is today regulated by a body called the International Whaling Commission, and currently there is a moratorium - a legal state of suspension - on commercial whaling.
Whales are marine mammals (rather than fish) belonging scientifically to the order Cetacea, along with dolphins and porpoises. There are a number of different species of whale, including the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale and beluga whale. These whales eat a wide variety of food including aquatic animals. There are also whales called baleen whales who filter seawater through their mouths, extracting small organism such as krill (tiny shrimp). This group includes some of the best-known whales - the minke whale, humpback whale and the blue whale - which, at more than 100 feet long and more than 130 tons in weight, is the biggest animal ever to have existed.
Al l whales are very efficient at breathing (much more efficient than humans, for example, and have nasal openings called blowholes on top of their head.
Although some whales are becoming rare, there are in fact millions of whales in the oceans. Whaling on an industrial scale for centuries meant that by the middle of the twentieth century, some species had been hunted almost to extinction and remain on the list of endangered species - hence the international ban on whaling for food.
Whales seem to have figured in human myths and stories for many hundreds of years. The King James Bible contains the famous story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale, but interestingly, a similar story also appears in the Koran.
The hunting of whales is today regulated by a body called the International Whaling Commission, and currently there is a moratorium - a legal state of suspension - on commercial whaling.
Whales are marine mammals (rather than fish) belonging scientifically to the order Cetacea, along with dolphins and porpoises. There are a number of different species of whale, including the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale and beluga whale. These whales eat a wide variety of food including aquatic animals. There are also whales called baleen whales who filter seawater through their mouths, extracting small organism such as krill (tiny shrimp). This group includes some of the best-known whales - the minke whale, humpback whale and the blue whale - which, at more than 100 feet long and more than 130 tons in weight, is the biggest animal ever to have existed.
Al l whales are very efficient at breathing (much more efficient than humans, for example, and have nasal openings called blowholes on top of their head.
Although some whales are becoming rare, there are in fact millions of whales in the oceans. Whaling on an industrial scale for centuries meant that by the middle of the twentieth century, some species had been hunted almost to extinction and remain on the list of endangered species - hence the international ban on whaling for food.
