WHALES

Whales breathe through a blowhole at the top of the head, which has evolved from the nasal passage, and they keep warm with an insulating layer or blubber. Whales form two groups: the toothed whales, including sperm whales and dolphins, which hunt fish, squid and seals, and have a single blowhole; and the baleen whales, which have two blowholes, and feed on fish or crustaceans, filtering them through fibrous baleen plates. Whales are widely classed as predators, but their food ranges from microscopic plankton to very large fish. Males are called bulls; females, cows. The young are called calves.

Whales can communicate with each other using lyrical sounds. Being so large and powerful these sounds are also extremely loud and can be heard for many miles. They have been known to generate about 20,000 acoustic watts of sound at 163 decibels.

Many people, particularly in the West, believe that cetaceans in general and whales in particular are highly intelligent animals. This belief has become one of a central argument against whaling (killing whales for commercial reasons). Proponents of whale and dolphin intelligence cite the social behavior of whales and dolphins and their apparent capacity for communication as evidence of a sophisticated intellect, though scientists often carefully point out the difference between the social traits and intelligence of animals, which laymen often confuse. Given the radically different environment of whales and humans, and the size of whales compared to dolphins or chimpanzees, for instance, it is extremely difficult to test these views experimentally.

If you want to see whales, the best is to go to the “warm oceans” (where the females give birth to young calves – but usually only once per two years). They live practically in all oceans, in the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific one, but the most closely to the equator you go, the minor appearance of whales you can find.

And what is the most famous whale? I am sure that the majority of you replies – THE BLUE WHALE - sometimes also called “angel of the oceans”. Blue whales may be larger than any other living or extinct animal and can reach average lengths of 21m and the largest individuals alive today probably measure about 26m. The record size for a blue whale is 34m. What about the average weight? For an adult blue whale it is about 64,348kg. And the record is unbelievable 172,330kg!!!

Zdroje:
Časopis 21. století
Wikipedia - otevřená encyklopedie
Oxford dictionary, 1999

alive = živý, na živu
ancestry = původ
average = průměrný
apparent = zjevný, zřejmý, patrný
appearance = výskyt
baleen = velrybí kostice
baleen whales = kostitovci
behavior = chování
belief = domněnka, přesvědční, mínění, víra
blowhole = nozdry velryby, větrací otvor
blubber = tuk
bull whale = velrybí samec (bull = vůl, býk, tažné zvíře)
calve whale = velrybí mládě (calve = tele)
cetacean = kytovec
cite = uvádět, citovat, odkazovat
confuse = splést, mást, poplést, zaměňovat
converted = přeměněný
cow whale = velrybí samice (cow = kráva)
crustacean = korýš
equator = rovník
evolve = vyvinout se
extinct = vyhynulý
feed on = živit se něčím
fibrous = vláknitý, žilkovitý, vazivový, šlachovitý
flippers = ploutve
fluke = dráp
for instance = třeba, na příklad
front = přední
give birth to = porodit
hind = zadní
hunt = lovit
in particular = zvláště, především, hlavně
inhabit = bydlet, obývat
insulating = izolační
layer = vrstva
layman = laik
length = délka
limbs = končetiny, údy
majority = většina
measure = měřit
minor = menší
nasal = nosní
particularly= zvláště, obzvlášť, především
point out = upozornit, zdůraznit, vyzdvihnout, poukázat na
plate = destička
proponent = zastánce, navrhovatel
range = rozsahovat, být v rozsahu od do
replace = nahradit, vyměnit
reach = dosáhnout
reply = odvětit, odpovědět
seal = tuleň, lachtan
species = druhy
sperm whale = vorvaň
squid = chobotnice
streamlined = zaoblený
terrestrial = zemský, pozemský
toothed = zubatý, ozubený
trace = stopa, známka čeho
trait = zvláštnost, povahový rys, charakter, znak, povaha
unbelievable = neuvěřitelný
weight = váha
whaling = lov velryb, velryb