Sperm Whales - Robert Peyton

 Sperm Whale

Marina Milligan/Dominica Sperm Whale Project

One of the most popular and iconic novels in human history features this stunning animal. A story of adventure and suspense, Moby Dick captivated the minds of countless individuals who set sail with Captain Ahab on the quest for the great whale. Unfortunately, the entertainment of this book comes at the expense of the sperm whale, painting the animal in a negative light and making sperm whales seem aggressive and deadly.  

Description & Ecology of Organism: 

(Enchanted Learning)  

  Sperm whales are easily recognized by their massive heads and prominent rounded foreheads.The unique name of this animal originates from the spermaceti organ located in its' head, which produces the valuable spermaceti oil (Enchanted Learning). The carnivorous sperm whale feasts on primarily giant squid and fish, consuming up to one ton (907 kg!) daily. These leviathans are the largest toothed whale, males grow to be 50-60 feet long and weigh about 40-50 tons. Females are smaller, ranging from 33-40 feet long and weighing anywhere from 14-18 tons (Enchanted Learning). Because of the deep-sea dwelling nature of their prey, the sperm whale can hold its' breath for up to 90 minutes, and have been known to dive as deep as 3,280 feet (National Geographic). The gestation period for sperm whales is 14-16 months, and a healthy sperm whale can live beyond 70 years! In terms of natural threats, the great sperm whale only has to worry about occasional attacks from killer whales, as well as even less frequent attacks from false killer whales and pilot whales. (WhaleFacts.org). 

Geography & Population:

Sperm whales inhabit all of the world's oceans except for the polar seas shown in blue. Population concentrations are shown in black. (OurEndangeredWorld.com)

Sperm whales can be found cruising anywhere across the globes oceans (except the north or south pole) at speeds of 23 miles per hour thanks to their 16 foot long tail fluke (National Geographic). Sperm whales typically travel in groups of 15-20 known as pods, mostly made up of females and young, while males tend to bounce around from pod to pod or swim solo. The bulk of sperm whale pods can be found in tropical and subtropical waters year-round. Males will migrate to higher latitudes and spend most of its life in solidarity, then return to the equator to breed (National Geographic). The long history of whaling and the complex social structure and reproductive behavior of sperm whales have confounded assessments of population size. Although the current population of the sperm whale is unknown, a 2003 estimate put the number at 360,000. This animal has been decimated by commercial whaling, as the recent population estimate is 68% below the pre-hunting estimate of 1,100,000 (edgeofexistence.org). 

                           ⟶  https://iwc.int/home ⟵

Listing Date: 06/02/1970

Listing Type: Endangered                                                

 Sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, are currently globally listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (US Fish and Wildlife Service). Hunted heavily during the 18th and 19th centuries in all parts of the world, lack of regulation aided in the decimation of this species until the first quotas were established in 1970, the same year that the whale was listed as endangered. Sperm whales were granted complete protection from commercial whaling beginning in the 1981-82 season by the International Whaling Commission (US Fish and Wildlife Service). 

Cause of Listing

• The single most devastating cause of endangering sperm whales was extensive commercial whaling all over the world for nearly two and a half centuries. Beginning in the 17th century, the whale was hunted for its' spermaceti oil, used to make lubricants and candles (edgeofexistence.org). As technology progressed and hunting methods became more efficient, the number of sperm whales caught skyrocketed, as seen on the graph above. This number didn't see significant decrease until the 80s, when hunting regulations were implemented by the international whaling commission. Although sperm whaling was banned entirely by the IWC, Japan continued to hunt sperm whales up until 2000 for scientific research (edgeofexistence.org). 

Continued Threats

• Collisions with boats and entanglement in fishing equipment
• Oil Spills
• Global Warming

Recovery Plan

 The goal of this Recovery Plan is to promote recovery of sperm whales to a point at which they can be downlisted from endangered to threatened status, and ultimately to remove them from the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, under the provisions of the ESA (US Fish and Wildlife Service).

1. Coordinate state, federal, and international actions to implement recovery action and maintain international regulation of whaling for sperm whales;

2. Develop and apply methods to estimate population size and monitor trends in abundance;

3. Determine population discreteness and population structure of sperm whales;

4. Conduct risk analyses;

5. Identify, characterize, protect, and monitor habitat important to sperm whale populations in U.S. waters and elsewhere;

6. Investigate causes of and reduce the frequency and severity of human-caused injury and mortality;

7. Determine and minimize any detrimental effects of anthropogenic noise in the oceans;

8. Maximize efforts to acquire scientific information from dead, stranded, and entangled sperm whales; and

9. Develop post-delisting monitoring plan.

(US Fish and Wildlife Service).

What can we do?

⟹⟹⟹  http://www.savethewhales.org/sperm.html  ⟸⟸⟸

While Sperm whales became endangered largely due to commercial whaling efforts, they are still effected today by human factors such as pollution, fishing nets, and boating. It may seem like there's nothing you as an individual can do, but that is simply NOT true! Every little conscious effort adds up, here are some steps we can strive for in order to help keep these magnificent creatures around. 



1. Cut the plastic rings on soda packs before disposing them. Thousands of wildlife is killed unnecessarily each year due to entanglements. 
2. Never release balloons outsides! They can travel for hundreds of miles and land in oceans, which can kill animals that ingest the balloon.
3.  Use environmentally friendly products and support organic agiculture.

Works Cited

Hogenboom, Melissa. "Sperm Whales Remember Their Friends over Many Years." BBC. N.p., 7 July 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

http://www.savethewhales.org/sperm.html

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/sperm-whale/

https://www.fws.gov/

http://www.whalefacts.org/

"SPERM WHALE Physeter Macrocephalus." All About Whales! Enchanted Learning, 1998-2016. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

"90. Sperm Whales." EDGE. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016. (edgeofexistence.org)