Information about whales

There are two kinds of whales, one is baleen whale and the other is toothed whale. Whales belong to Chordata phylum, Vertebrate phylum, Mammalian phylum and Euvertebrate phylum, including about 98 viviparous mammals living in oceans and rivers. There are more than 30 species in China waters. All kinds of whales live in the sea except a few whales that live in fresh water.

The definition of whale itself is vague. Whales can include all cetaceans, as well as cetaceans of specific families. Whales also include all dolphins. Whales are mainly divided into two types: mysterious whales and toothed whales.

There are fewer species of baleen whales, but they are huge. At present, the smallest known species is more than 6 meters long, and the world's largest animal, the blue whale, also belongs to the baleen whale. However, the shape of toothed whales is quite different, the smallest species is only about 30cm, and the largest sperm whale is more than 20m long. Whales do not belong to fish, but to mammals.

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Due to the deterioration of the environment and the mass killing of human beings, cetaceans, especially some large members, are widely killed because of their high economic value, and many cetaceans are on the verge of extinction.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is an international organization responsible for whaling and cetacean protection. After commercial whaling led to a sharp decline in whale population, the International Whaling Commission decided to take action to protect whales.

These include a temporary ban on commercial whaling from 1986, and the establishment of Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 1979 and Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 1994 respectively. However, since 1986, some countries, such as Japan and Norway, have taken advantage of the loopholes in the IWC resolution to kill at least 25,000 whales or dolphins every year under the banner of "scientific whaling".

Other countries that kill whales are Norway, Iceland and Japan, as well as some indigenous tribes in Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada.

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