sperm whale

(also known as ‘common cachalot’ which means ‘tooth’; for the right pronunciation, please click here)

a kind of animal – sea mammal – belongs to the whale family – toothed whale – a grey bulky body with a large box-like head (almost one-third of the total body length), no fin on the back but with side flippers, wide wedge-shaped tail (fluke); size: on average, 50-60 feet long, and weight: 35-50 tons (35-50,000 Kg.) (some individuals can grow to 65 feet in length and 57 tons (57,000 Kg.) in weight) (male much larger than female); feeds on (eats) mostly squid, octopus, rays and fish; lives for about 70 years; found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of all the oceans

a sperm whale’s teeth

male ~~ bull

female ~~ cow

baby ~~ calf

group ~~ pod

voice (call) ~~ click, clang

Special Features:
The sperm whale is the state animal of Connecticut, USA.

(a rare find of ambergris)

The sperm whale was named after the milky-white waxy substance, called ‘spermaceti’, found in a cavity in the whale’s head, which was, in the past, mistaken for sperm or semen of a male. The sperm whale has been hunted for this substance which is used in making candles, soap, cosmetics, pencils, crayons, medicine, and also in making machine oil and leather water-proofing!! The sperm whale is the largest of all ‘toothed’ whales; it has the largest head (20 feet long, 10 feet high and 7 feet across); the largest brain (9 Kg.); the loudest sound; and it is probably the deepest diving animal (4,000-10,000 feet deep), holding its breath under water for about an hour; and the most hunted of all whales!