Keep a Song in Your Heart and Jump for Joy!

Whales are aquatic mammals.  Whales, dolphins, and porpoises belong to the infraorder called Cetacea. The key characteristics of these aquatic mammals are their fully aquatic lifestyle, their streamlined body shape, their large size and their exclusively carnivorous diet. 

The three largest whale species in the world are the blue whale, the fin whale, and the sperm whale.  The Antarctic blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever lived on the planet.  It weighs up to 400,000 pounds (about 33 elephants) and reaches up to 98 feet in length. 

 As a species, whales are generally non-violent and do not display aggressive behaviours towards humans. In a situation where a whale may feel threatened or frightened, it may defend itself by attacking what it thinks is a potential threat.  You should never touch a whale. Whales may scratch, bite, or thrash their tails.  Whales have a varying number of teeth, depending on the species.  Some kinds of whales only have one or two teeth, while others might have 240 teeth or more. Some toothed whales have teeth on both their lower and upper jaws.  

Whales primarily eat small aquatic life forms such as fish, squid, and krill.  They are not known for eating people.  Killer whales will kill and eat a great white shark but that is rare. 

An adult male whale is called a bull and females are called cows.  Young whales are called calves. Most whales live socially in female-dominated groups called pods.  A pod consist of related female members of a family and their offspring. 

Whales are marine mammals and like all mammals they require air to breathe.  They must come to the surface of the water to take in oxygen.  Oxygen is pumped around its enormous body by a massive, four-chambered heart.  The blue whale’s heart beats once every 10 seconds pumping 220 litres of blood through its body.  Its heart beats so loudly it can be heard from 3km away through sonar equipment. 

Whales cannot fall asleep for too long because they need to be conscious to breathe and stay alive. Humpback whales are often found resting motionless on the surface of the ocean while sleeping.  They cannot sleep much longer than 30 minutes without risking lowering their body temperature due to inactivity.  In the wild whales have been observed resting quietly in the water in a vertical or horizontal position or sleeping while swimming slowly next to another animal. 

Whales make noise to communicate, locate food, and find each other.  They also like to jump. Their high-speed leap is called porpoising.  A jump gives the Killer whale a good advance on its prey. Even after a feeding event is over, jumping can take place as a way to celebrate. 

These are the sayings found on the bookmark called Advice from a Whale.

• Make a splash

• Move with grace and beauty

• Explore the depths of your true nature

• Think big

• Keep a song in your heart

• Remember to come up for air

• No blubbering!

Here are my comments about each of these sayings. 

• Make a splash - This phrase means to attract a lot of attention in an exciting way.

• Move with grace and beauty - If someone moves with grace, they move in a smooth, controlled and attractive way.  They move with a sense of propriety and consideration for others.

• Explore the depths of your true nature - Self-awareness.  Understanding our true self plays a critical role in our decisions and interactions with others.

• Think big - When you think big it redirects our energy to find solutions instead of worrying about our problems.  

• Keep a song in your heart - The song in your heart celebrates what you consider worthy of celebration.  Keep up the great work work being your wonderful self.

• Remember to come up for air - Remember to stop what you are doing and take a rest or do something different. 

• No blubbering! - Blubbering means to cry like a child. For a whale, blubber is a thick layer of fat to protect it from the cold sea.  

Have a great day everyone.  Keep a song in your heart and jump for joy!

# living life abundantly  # published author # travelling tuesdays