My animal’s scientific name is Physeter macrocephalus commonly known as the sperm whale. It was named sperm whale because of a substance called spermaceti found in its head. Scientists can only have theories about what it does. Some scientists believe that spermaceti helps the whale because when the water turns cold the spermaceti turns to wax and can help the whale dive deeper. The Sperm whale is a very exciting and interesting creature.

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Females can grow up to 36 feet and usually weigh 13-14 tons. Males can usually grow up to 53 feet with their heads making up to one third of their size. The males weigh between 35 to 45 tons. The Sperm Whale’s skin is thick and rough and usually gray, but some albinos have been seen. Some Sperm Whale skin has Giant Squid sucker scars on it from the battles with the Giant Squid. The sperm whale hasn’t adapted that much even some scientist think the length of the actual sperm whale length has gone down because of over hunting.

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The sperm whale is found in all the oceans. The males live more in the northern equator. Then they will go to the equator when they are ready to reproduce. The younger whales and the females live more in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The sperm whale lives in these oceans because there main food (squids and octopi) live there too.

The sperm whale population is currently threatened according to the ICUN. They are a steadily growing species. They are growing because humans have stopped over hunting the species. The sperm whales are one of the top predators in the ocean, but during the 1600s and 1700s they were hunted for their spermaceti. Even when the whalers came the sperm whale could defend its-self pretty good and could even sink some ships.

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The Sperm Whale dives down on trips to search for food that can last over an hour. It manly eats Colossal Squid, Giant Squid, octopuses and a variety of fish. The Sperm Whale usually only dives down 500 meters a fraction of what it really can. The sperm whale doesn’t really compete much with other animals because of its great size and strength. Some Scientists believe that Sperm Whales sometimes eat the Mega Mouth Shark, which is a very rare shark. The Sperm whale has around 21-26 teeth and weigh around 2.2 lbs each.

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The Sperm Whale holds many records. It has the biggest brain of any mammal that has ever lived. It also holds the record for the deepest diving mammal; it can dive over 9,800 feet. It is also the largest living toothed animal. This whale also has an interesting history it was the whale that attacked the ship Essex the ship behind the story of Moby Dick. 

As you can see, the sperm whale is a very interesting creature.  I am glad to have learned about this animal.  One of my favorite parts of the sperm whale is that it sometimes eats the Mega Mouth Shark. The Mega mouth shark is one of my favorite animals.  I can’t believe that they eat giant squid a colossal squid and holds a lot of world records. The sperm whale is my favorite animal.

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Author: Max T
Publish:05/2012     

                      

Sources:

Burnie, David. Animal: [the Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife]. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2001. Print.

"Sperm Whale | Cetacean Fact Sheet | American Cetacean Society." ACS - American Cetacean Society. 3 Apr. 2010. Web. 15 Jan. 2011. http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/spermwhl.htm.

"Sperm Whale." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale.