My Favorite Whale.

      It has been a few long weeks talking about the conservation of whales, and how we must fight to save our sea creatures numbers. But this blog I am going to talk about a lighter topic which is one of my favorite types of whales and about them.
Cachalot, Also known as the Sperm Whale. French for tooth or big tooth. The Cachalot is the largest toothed whale and the last living species of the Genus, Physeter. They were the first whale I laid my eyes on in person and have some special beauty to me. When I picture a whale they have the shape and body type that quickly comes to mind. 

     Sperm Whales have a huge head which is filled with a substance called Spermaciti. It is said to have some effect on the buoyancy of the whale, helping them swim down and float to the surface as well. This is where the word sperm in Sperm Whale comes from, not like whales reproductive sperm. That is a common misconception.  Full size male Sperm whales have been spotted up to 67 feet long, and 58 tons. Thats huge, but they say that whaling over the years has caused the species to seem smaller in size then before the second World War Because they are no longer able to grow to their full potential before they were killed, causing the breeding size to naturally shrink. Only in sperm whales, the head takes up about 1/3 of the actual body size. Making them probably the most distinctive of whales.

     Sperm whales contain the largest brains ever, modern, and extinct. About five times heavier then a humans at about 15-18 lbs. Although Sperm whales have the largest brains I find it interesting that they do not have the highest EQ level. Encephalization Quotient which according to Harvard research is essentially a Brain size, to body size intelligence number. But that does not discredit Sperm Whales as far as I am concerned. They are still beautiful amazing creatures that help our oceans ecosystems thrive and survive. So now I ask of you, Whats your favorite Whale species?