In the last several decades the perception of whales has changed dramatically in the minds of people.
With the advent of television, the increased awareness of the importance of whales and the growth of the whale watching industry, whales have become a very popular topic.
Television shows such as Whale Wars bring the battle against the whaling industry right into our living rooms.
This new awareness about the killing of whales has led more and more people to take a stance against countries that still employ whaling as a business.
Movies such as Free Willy and Happy Feet depict killer whale (part of the dolphin family) as intelligent, friendly and loving animals.
There have also been songs and poems written about these amazing creatures.
In the past the less we knew about whales the more the imagination was able to take over and this is often seen in the mythological stories that were told about whales in the past.
Whales have been depicted as antagonistic sea creatures that could break ships in half and eat people, as powerful and intelligent yet playful predators, as deities and gods of the sea and as mans best friend.
In short whales have always fascinated people and we now have more access to better information and a better understanding of these beautiful animals that have captured our minds and our hearts.
Over the last few decades whales have played major roles in many cultures from whale watching to books and television to movies, and it seems there’s no slowing down the popularity of these amazing creatures.
In fact here’s a short list of some of the movies, TV shows and books that feature whales:
Popular Whale T.V. Shows and Movies
- Whale Wars
- Blue Whale Odyssey
- Big Miracle
- Free Willy
- Moby Dick
- The Year Of The Whale
- Whale Nation
- In The Heart Of The Sea
- Orca
- Namu: The Killer Whale
About the whale species
Today there are around 80 – 90 recorded species of cetacea so far.
The cetacean species is composed of all species of whale, dolphin and porpoises and is broken down into the toothed whale and baleen whale suborders based on the marine mammals physical characteristics.
Toothed whales are known for their smaller size, single blowhole, echolocation abilities and teeth, which they can use to threaten predators or competitors and use for chewing their prey.
Baleen whales are known for their large size, two blowholes and baleen plates, which they use for filter feeding.
The size of the whale species can vary greatly depending on the whale from 4 ft. and 90 lbs. up to 100 ft. and 180 tons.
Because whales are marine mammals they share many of the same characteristics with land mammals such as:
- Breathing air
- Being warm-blooded
- Giving birth
- Producing milk
- Having hair (not all species have hair)
Although whales are marine mammals their ancestors lived, hunted and survived on land.
Over the course of millions of years these marine mammals evolved from land dwelling creatures to ocean bearing animals.
For more information about the whale species check out: whale facts and information