Kerosene did not save the sperm whale (2024)

There are many extraordinary creatures in the world, but few are quite as extraordinary as the sperm whale. These vast, enigmatic mammals have long fascinated and terrified humans. Don’t take it from me, take it from Herman Melville. But in this case the reality is even more fascinating than the myths. Capable of diving thousands of feet beneath the waves for over an hour at a time, the sperm whale has perhaps the most exotic diet on the planet. As the biggest toothed predator on earth, it feasts on mysterious bottom-dwelling sharks, skates and, most notably of all, the giant squid - another of the world’s least well-understood animals. Superlatives abound. Sperm whales have the biggest heads (in proportion to the rest of their bodies) of any large animal. A typical sperm whale might be one-third head. And while much of what is to be found inside that head is brain (yes, sperm whales are also notable for having the largest brains on earth) even more space is given over to something ... Read full article.