Whales

Whales live in the sea but they are not fish. They are mammals. This means that they have warm blood. The babies grow inside their mother. The mothers feed the babies with their own milk.

Whales have skin. They do not have scales like a fish. They need air, too. From time to time they must go to the surface of the sea to get air.

Whales have small eyes so they cannot see very well. We cannot see their ears but they can hear very well.

Whales can swim very fast. They move their tails up and down to swim. They are usually gentle animals. They are also very clever. Most whales eat fish and squid. Killer whales are dangerous. They kill seals, porpoises and penguins, and sometimes they kill other whales, too.

Blue whales are the biggest animals in the world. The biggest blue whales are over 25 metres long and weigh over 100 tonnes (1 tonne = 1,000 kilograms). They live for over 100 years.