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Whales can be difficult to study due to the fact that many species live deep in the ocean, hundreds of meters below the surface. sperm whales spend much of their time diving deep in search of food. They can reach depths of 3,000 feet or more, which is just over half a mile. So how do we know how long whales live? Is it possible that far below the surface there are whales that are more than a hundred years old? One thing we do know is that whales are mammals and therefore breathe air to live. So even if there are whales that dive deep, at some point they have to surface so that their blowholes have access to air to fill their lungs. Because they have to constantly return to the surface, researchers can use satellite imagery to study and track whales. So how long have scientists discovered that whales live?
How long do whales live?
The lifespan of whales generally ranges from 20 to 100 years, but varies by species. One whale species can even live more than 200 years! Let’s go into a few cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) to see how long different species live.
Bottlenose dolphins lifepsan
bottlenose dolphins can live more than 40 years if properly cared for. The oldest bottlenose dolphin on record turned 61 and lived in a Florida marine center. In the wild, lifespans are much lower, with the average dolphin only living to 17 years on the upper limits of estimates. Bottlenose dolphins’ lifespans are lower in the wild as they face predators and other threats.
How long do blue whales live?
Believe it or not, but the best way to get a . to measure blue whales age is their earwax! As blue whales age, their earwax alternates layers indicates when the whale was migrating or in feeding periods. Just as counting the rings of a tree can determine its age, in the same way you can count the periods between migrating and fasting in a tree. blue whaleearwax to get a reliable estimate of how old they are! Using this method, scientists have estimated that dwarf blue whales can live for more than 70 years, while larger Antarctic blue whales can live for about 90 years.
How long do killer whales live?
Orcas sit somewhere between the size of a blue whale and a bottlenose dolphin, so you may wonder how long orcas live. Unfortunately, killer whales struggle to live for long periods of time in captivity, where their lifespans are often 30 years or less. In the wild, killer whales can live to be over 40 years old.
The oldest orca in the wild was known as “grandma” and lived off Washington State and British Columbia. The age of “Granny” is hotly disputed, but according to some reports, she lived from 1911 to 2016, which would make her 105 years old. Grandma was captured in 1967 with the aim of moving her to a marine park, but she was considered too old at the time, 49 years before she finally died! It’s as if grandma’s age was closer to 60 to 80, which still shows the long maximum lifespan that killer whales are capable of in the wild!
Do the largest whales live the longest?
The three largest whale species are the blue whale, the fin whale and the you are a whale, and they have one of the longest life expectancies, but not the longest. Blue whales can grow 80 to 100 feet long (that’s the length of three school buses parked back to back!). They can be found all over the world in the north Pacific, Indian and Antarctic Oceans and in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Due to over whaling, these large animals are considered threatened by the IUCN, but the good news is that their numbers are increasing, allowing more blue whales to reach their life expectancy. As mentioned above, blue whales can often live to be 70 to 90 years old.
Fin whales, also members of the Rorqual family of whales, can grow to 75-85 feet and have a similar lifespan to the blue whales with the average fin whale living 80-90 years. Fin whales are the third largest whale, measuring 40-60 feet in length and a lifespan of 50-70 years. Fin whales are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and sei whales are listed as endangered, but both species are increasing in population, as are the blue whales.
Which whale has the longest lifespan?
If the largest whales have long lifespans, but not the longest, which whale has the? longest lifespan? The Bowhead Whale! These whales have been found to live for more than 200 years. Their lifespan is on average 100-200 years old. Researchers find it fascinating to study these giant creatures and find out why they are the longest-living mammal on Earth. Some are trying to discover what can be applied to humans to extend the life of our species.
How do these huge whales slow down aging and prevent them from developing a variety of age-related diseases? A research study examined the gene sequence of bowhead whales lo
oking for “the existence of natural mechanisms that can suppress cancer more effectively in these animals.” They are looking for clues as to how these whales age more slowly and appear to be cancer resistant.
One theory of their longevity revolves around the idea that because they live primarily in the Arctic and sub-Arctic oceans, they have adapted to living in the extremely cold waters. Like animals that hibernate in winter, they lower their metabolism and can extend their lives. This is another reason why researchers are fascinated by the bowhead whale.
How long do toothed whales live?
Whales are grouped into two groups, baleen whales (such as those listed above: blue, fin, sei, and bowhead whales) and toothed whales (such as sperm whales and beaked whales, as well as dolphins, porpoises, and belugas). The largest of the toothed whales is the sperm whale; they can grow 40-50 feet tall. Unlike baleen whales which scour the ocean for small fish, crustaceans, krill and plankton, toothed whales hunt their prey and attack squid, skate and even sharks! Sperm whales also have long life spans ranging from 60-80 years. The dwarf sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale are two other toothed whales, but they are significantly smaller than the sperm whale, they are also quite rare. These whales only grow to 11 ½ feet in length, and since we’ve seen a correlation between the larger animals living longer, you might surmise that these smaller whales have shorter lifespans. That would be right. The dwarf sperm whale has a lifespan of up to 23 years, less than half that of the sperm whale.
Beaked whales are another toothed whale that is also significantly smaller, but they are larger than the pygmy sperm whale. There are several species of beaked whales, but one of the most common is the Cuvier’s beaked whale, which can grow up to 15 to 23 feet in length. Their average lifespan is 50-60 years. While sperm whales are known to be deep divers, the Cuvier’s beaked whale holds the record for the deepest dive. Researchers have tagged some beaked whales and recorded how deep they dive by satellite. The deepest dive was from a Cuvier’s beaked whale at 2,999 meters (1.86 miles!). That’s a deep dive!
What about the lifespan of dolphins and porpoises?
Dolphins and porpoises are whales and have different family groups. Porpoises are part of a family group and differ from dolphins in that they are smaller and have a shorter bill with a round nose. Porpoises grow to between 5 and 7 feet in length and have an average lifespan of 23 years. Dolphins have several family groups, including both marine and river dolphins. The most common, the bottlenose dolphin, lives an average of 20-40 years, while the smaller Amazon dolphin (or pink dolphin) has a lifespan of 12-18 years.
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