Behavior and Dietĭwarf sperm whales are usually seen either alone or in small groups of 16 or fewer individuals. In the wild, it is very difficult to distinguish between the two species because they have similar appearances and geographic ranges. These two types of whales were not distinguished as separate species until 1966. Their eyes are dark and bulging with a dark ring surrounding them.ĭwarf sperm whales can sometimes be confused with pygmy sperm whales, their closest relative. They have up to three pairs of teeth in the upper jaw and seven to 13 pairs of teeth in the lower jaw. Their underside is paler with white or pink tones. They have a marking behind the eye that is often called a 'false gill' because it looks similar to a fish's gill cover or slit.ĭwarf sperm whales have a brown to blue-gray colored back. Their head is sometimes described as shark-like because of its pointed snout and narrow, underslung lower jaw. While on the water’s surface, dwarf sperm whales have a low profile because their head and back are somewhat flat. Each individual whale’s dorsal fin is a slightly different shape. If all of these estimates are accurate, then the additional carbon that could have been extracted from the air by the sperm whales that were killed would have amounted to a lot more clean air and a much more balanced and healthy oceanic and land-based ecosystem.Dwarf sperm whales have a small, compact body with a small dorsal fin located near the middle of their back. It is estimated that as much as 400,000 tonnes of carbon are extracted from the air due to these whales each year! Studies have shown that the nutrients in sperm whale poop help stimulate phytoplankton’s growth, which pulls carbon from the air providing a cleaner and healthier breathing environment for all animals. Rough estimates suggest that there are now anywhere between 200,000 – 1 500 and 000 sperm whales left in the world’s oceans, which may seem like a lot, but it’s much less than before the whaling industry began.

Unfortunately, due to excessive whaling efforts, it is estimated that whalers killed as many as 1,000,000 sperm whales over the last few centuries, which is now causing an imbalance in the ocean’s ecosystem and affecting our ozone layer. In terms of their habitat, sperm whales can swim throughout the world’s major oceans and are the largest marine mammals within the toothed whale suborder. long and weigh more than 45 tons, with the large sperm whales growing to lengths of up to 67 ft. When the sperm whale rises to the surface, markings can often be found on and around the sperm whale’s head, which appears to be caused by battles with the giant squid they are trying to consume.Ĭompared to the colossal squid, these marine mammals eat adult sperm whales that can grow to lengths over 50 ft. In these situations, it appears that the giant squid latches onto the sperm whale’s head with its tentacles to avoid being eaten. While researchers haven’t been able to witness any battles between a sperm whale and colossal squid (which can measure in at over 45 ft and weigh more than 1 000 pounds), the markings found on the sperm whales head indicate struggles they’ve had while trying to consume this species of squid.

It allows the sperm whale to maintain an abundant food source without interruption from other animals, even those that live in deep waters.Īs stated earlier, most of what is known about the sperm whale’s squid diet has been studied from the contents of the sperm whale’s stomach. In addition to having prey that lives well beyond the threats of humans and other marine mammals, giant squid rarely has any predators in the deep waters that they live in. They do not have to worry about their food being captured by fishermen or other marine mammals. However, their primary diet consists mainly of squid, and since they eat food that lives in reasonably deep water. Sperm whales eat giant and colossal squid, octopus, cephalopods, cuddle fish, and various other fish. However, stomach content and rare observations have given us some idea of what the sperm whales’ typical diet looks like. While some information has been uncovered regarding these excellent hunters’ diets, their hunting methods have not been well researched due to the deep dives these whales make when hunting for food.īecause of their ability to travel so far underwater, studying or recording their behaviors has been difficult. However, most of the time, their dives are usually no more than 2,600 ft. This marine mammal can dive over 6,000 ft. The Sperm whale is the deepest diving marine mammal in the world.