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Sea Creature Kingdom

Whales

The gentle giants of the ocean — all species!

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Whales are mammals, not fish — they breathe air, are warm-blooded, and nurse their young with milk. The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived on Earth, reaching 100 feet long and 200 tons. Sea Creature Kingdom features 22 remarkable whale species, from the singing humpback to the spiral-tusked narwhal.

Baleen Whales — The Filter Feeders
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
Endangered
Size
Up to 100 ft
Weight
Up to 400,000 lbs
Diet
Krill only
Lifespan
Up to 90 years
Fun Facts
  • The LARGEST animal ever to exist on Earth — bigger than any dinosaur
  • Its heart is the size of a small car and you could crawl through its arteries
  • A baby blue whale gains 200 lbs per day drinking its mother's milk
  • Its call is louder than a jet engine and can be heard 1,000 miles away
  • Eats up to 40 million tiny krill per day despite their massive size
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
Least Concern
Size
Up to 60 ft
Weight
Up to 80,000 lbs
Diet
Krill, small fish
Lifespan
Up to 95 years
Fun Facts
  • Sings the longest and most complex songs in the animal kingdom — up to 20 hours long
  • Only males sing — and the songs evolve and change every year
  • Creates bubble nets to trap fish — blowing bubbles in a circle to herd them
  • Breaches completely out of the water despite weighing 40 tons
  • Migrates up to 16,000 miles per year — one of the longest migrations of any mammal
Fin Whale
Balaenoptera physalus
Vulnerable
Size
Up to 85 ft
Weight
Up to 160,000 lbs
Diet
Krill, fish, squid
Speed
Up to 25 mph
Fun Facts
  • Second largest animal on Earth after the blue whale
  • Called the greyhound of the sea — one of the fastest large whales
  • Has asymmetric colouring — right jaw is white, left jaw is dark — very unusual
  • Can live up to 140 years old
  • Population was decimated by whaling — lost over 700,000 individuals
Sei Whale
Balaenoptera borealis
Endangered
Size
Up to 64 ft
Weight
Up to 100,000 lbs
Diet
Krill, copepods, fish
Habitat
All deep oceans
Fun Facts
  • Named after the Norwegian word for pollock fish which arrives at the same time as the whales
  • One of the fastest baleen whales — can reach 30 mph in short bursts
  • Very hard to study — appears unpredictably and disappears just as fast
  • Lost about 80% of its population to commercial whaling in the 20th century
Common Minke Whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Least Concern
Size
Up to 35 ft
Weight
Up to 20,000 lbs
Diet
Fish, krill, squid
Habitat
All oceans worldwide
Fun Facts
  • The smallest of the baleen whales
  • Highly curious — often approaches boats and swimmers
  • Makes boinging sounds — the strangest noise of any whale
  • The most hunted whale today — Japan and Norway still hunt them
Antarctic Minke Whale
Balaenoptera bonaerensis
Near Threatened
Size
Up to 35 ft
Weight
Up to 20,000 lbs
Diet
Krill mainly
Habitat
Antarctic waters
Fun Facts
  • Found specifically in Antarctic waters unlike its cousin the common minke
  • Dives under sea ice to feed on dense swarms of krill
  • Has no white band on its flippers unlike the common minke
  • Orcas are their main predator in Antarctic waters
Bowhead Whale
Balaena mysticetus
Least Concern
Size
Up to 60 ft
Weight
Up to 220,000 lbs
Diet
Krill, copepods
Lifespan
Over 200 years!
Fun Facts
  • The LONGEST living mammal on Earth — over 200 years old
  • Has the largest mouth of any animal — can open it wide enough to park a car inside
  • Uses its massive bowed head to break through sea ice up to 2 feet thick
  • Lives exclusively in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters its entire life
  • A harpoon from the 1800s was found in one — proof of their incredible age
North Atlantic Right Whale
Eubalaena glacialis
Critically Endangered
Size
Up to 52 ft
Weight
Up to 140,000 lbs
Diet
Copepods, krill
Population
Only ~350 left!
Fun Facts
  • One of the most endangered large animals on Earth with only about 350 remaining
  • Called the right whale because whalers considered it the right whale to hunt — it floated when dead
  • Has rough patches of skin called callosities on its head — unique like a fingerprint
  • Boat strikes and fishing gear entanglement are killing them faster than they can reproduce
  • Losing about 3 per year — scientists say it may go extinct within decades
Southern Right Whale
Eubalaena australis
Least Concern
Size
Up to 56 ft
Weight
Up to 150,000 lbs
Diet
Copepods, krill
Habitat
Southern Hemisphere oceans
Fun Facts
  • Recovering well since whaling stopped — population growing about 7% per year
  • Males have the largest testicles of any animal — up to 2,000 lbs
  • Curious and friendly — often approaches boats and swimmers
  • Calves near shore in bays and inlets of South Africa, Argentina, and Australia
Gray Whale
Eschrichtius robustus
Least Concern
Size
Up to 49 ft
Weight
Up to 90,000 lbs
Diet
Amphipods from seafloor
Migration
12,000 miles round trip
Fun Facts
  • Makes one of the longest migrations of any mammal — 12,000 miles round trip
  • Sucks sediment off the seafloor and filters out tiny crustaceans — the only bottom-feeding whale
  • Covered in white barnacles and orange whale lice that live on its skin
  • Has no dorsal fin — only a series of bumps along its back
  • Once nearly extinct — now a conservation success story
Bryde's Whale
Balaenoptera edeni
Least Concern
Size
Up to 46 ft
Weight
Up to 90,000 lbs
Diet
Fish, krill, squid
Habitat
Warm tropical oceans
Fun Facts
  • Pronounced BROO-dah — named after a South African official Johan Bryde
  • One of the only baleen whales that stays in warm tropical waters year round
  • Has three prominent ridges on its rostrum — unique among baleen whales
  • Often seen lunge feeding through fish schools near the surface
Pygmy Right Whale
Caperea marginata
Least Concern
Size
Up to 21 ft
Weight
Up to 7,700 lbs
Diet
Copepods, krill
Habitat
Southern Hemisphere
Fun Facts
  • The smallest baleen whale in the world
  • Extremely rarely seen — one of the least known whales on Earth
  • Has a unique swimming style — arches its back strangely when swimming
  • Despite its name it is not closely related to right whales
Omura's Whale
Balaenoptera omurai
Data Deficient
Size
Up to 38 ft
Weight
Unknown
Diet
Krill likely
Habitat
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Fun Facts
  • Only confirmed as a species in 2003 — a brand new whale
  • First seen alive in the wild in 2015 off Madagascar
  • Almost nothing is known about its behaviour or life
  • Has the same asymmetric jaw colouring as the fin whale
Toothed Whales — The Hunters
Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
Vulnerable
Size
Up to 67 ft
Weight
Up to 130,000 lbs
Diet
Giant squid, fish
Dive depth
Over 7,000 ft
Fun Facts
  • Has the LARGEST brain of any animal that has ever existed on Earth
  • Can dive over 7,000 feet and hold its breath for over 90 minutes
  • Battles giant squid in the deep ocean — scars from suction cups found on their skin
  • The loudest animal on Earth — clicks can reach 230 decibels
  • The whale from the book Moby Dick is a sperm whale
  • Sleeps vertically in groups near the surface — like floating logs
Narwhal
Monodon monoceros
Least Concern
Size
Up to 17 ft
Weight
Up to 3,500 lbs
Diet
Fish, squid, shrimp
Habitat
Arctic Ocean
Fun Facts
  • The unicorn of the sea — its spiral tusk can grow up to 10 feet long
  • The tusk is actually a tooth that grows straight through the upper lip
  • Females rarely have a tusk — it is mostly males
  • The tusk has 10 million nerve endings and may sense temperature and pressure
  • Medieval people sold narwhal tusks as real unicorn horns for enormous sums
  • Can dive to 5,000 feet making 15 deep dives per day
Beluga Whale
Delphinapterus leucas
Least Concern
Size
Up to 18 ft
Weight
Up to 3,500 lbs
Diet
Fish, squid, crustaceans
Habitat
Arctic and sub-Arctic
Fun Facts
  • The only all-white whale — born dark grey and turns white as adults
  • Called the canary of the sea because of its wide range of clicks, whistles, and songs
  • Can move its head in all directions unlike most whales — has a flexible neck
  • Has a large melon on its forehead that changes shape when making sounds
  • Very social and lives in groups called pods — extremely playful
Pygmy Sperm Whale
Kogia breviceps
Least Concern
Size
Up to 11 ft
Weight
Up to 900 lbs
Diet
Squid, fish, crabs
Habitat
Deep temperate oceans
Fun Facts
  • Much smaller than the regular sperm whale
  • Releases a reddish-brown cloud like ink to escape predators — just like an octopus
  • Very shy and rarely seen — spends most time in deep water
  • Often floats motionless at the surface which makes it hard to spot
Dwarf Sperm Whale
Kogia sima
Least Concern
Size
Up to 9 ft
Weight
Up to 600 lbs
Diet
Squid, fish, crabs
Habitat
Warm deep oceans
Fun Facts
  • The SMALLEST whale in the world — barely bigger than a large dolphin
  • Also releases ink like an octopus to escape predators
  • Has a false gill mark behind its eye which makes it look like a fish
  • Very little is known about this shy deep-sea creature
Cuvier's Beaked Whale
Ziphius cavirostris
Least Concern
Size
Up to 23 ft
Weight
Up to 6,600 lbs
Diet
Deep sea squid and fish
Dive record
9,816 ft deep!
Fun Facts
  • Holds the world record for the DEEPEST dive of any mammal — nearly 10,000 feet
  • Also holds the record for the longest dive — 3 hours and 42 minutes without breathing
  • Most common of the beaked whales but still very rarely seen
  • Has two conical teeth that stick out of the lower jaw of males
Northern Bottlenose Whale
Hyperoodon ampullatus
Least Concern
Size
Up to 30 ft
Weight
Up to 16,500 lbs
Diet
Squid mainly
Habitat
North Atlantic deep water
Fun Facts
  • Has a very distinctive bulging forehead called a melon that gets bigger with age
  • Extremely loyal to family — will stay with injured companions and refuse to leave
  • This loyalty unfortunately caused mass strandings when whaling ships played recordings of distressed whales
  • Can dive to over 4,500 feet to hunt squid in total darkness
Baird's Beaked Whale
Berardius bairdii
Least Concern
Size
Up to 42 ft
Weight
Up to 26,000 lbs
Diet
Deep sea fish and squid
Habitat
North Pacific deep water
Fun Facts
  • The largest of all the beaked whales
  • Dives to over 3,000 meters to find food in the dark deep ocean
  • Males have distinctive erupted teeth that can be seen even when mouth is closed
  • Still hunted by Japan in small numbers — one of the last hunted whale species
North Pacific Right Whale
Eubalaena japonica
Critically Endangered
Size
Up to 60 ft
Weight
Up to 180,000 lbs
Diet
Copepods, krill
Population
Fewer than 30 known
Fun Facts
  • May be the RAREST large animal on Earth with fewer than 30 individuals known
  • So rare that scientists go years without a confirmed sighting
  • Once extremely common — hunted to near extinction in the 1800s
  • Scientists fear it may be too late to save this species

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Last updated: May 2026

Whale Questions — Answered

Are whales fish or mammals?

Whales are mammals. They breathe air, are warm-blooded, give birth to live calves, and nurse their young with milk. They evolved from land mammals about 50 million years ago.

How big is the biggest whale?

The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth — up to 100 feet (30 m) long and 330,000 lbs. Its heart alone is the size of a small car.

What do whales eat?

Baleen whales (blue, humpback, fin) filter-feed on tiny krill and small fish. Toothed whales (sperm, orca) hunt fish, squid, and in the case of orcas — seals and other whales.

Are whales dangerous to humans?

Most whales are not dangerous to humans. Orcas have never attacked humans in the wild. Sperm whales have been known to ram boats when threatened. In general, whales are gentle giants.

Blue whale vs great white shark — who's bigger?

Blue whales win by a massive margin. A blue whale at 100 feet long weighs 330,000 lbs. A great white shark is only 20 feet long and 5,000 lbs. The blue whale is over 60 times heavier.

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