Silver Bank Marine Sanctuary (80 miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic)
Steller Sea Lions in SE Alaska
Northern Bottlenose Whale, a Beaked Whale
We have never seen one and probably never will but it was fascinating to read about them. Males: 32’ Females 29’
Weight between 8-10 tons
The deepest diving mammal going as deep as 6/10 of a mile, surpassing the deep-diving Sperm Whales and Walruses. They can stay under for 2 to 2 1/2 HOURS!
Special adaptations are necessary for them to withstand the pressures they encounter when diving so deep:
They have the ability to store extra oxygen in special blood and muscle proteins rather than in their lungs (at those depths their bodies become so compressed that the heart can scarcely pump and the lungs are essentially flat).
They have the densest skull bones of any known mammal giving them a crush-proof case for their brain.
The bulbous head, especially on the males, is laden with oils (as much as 400 lbs) sold to makers of ointments, perfumes, candles, and cosmetics.
The lower jaw yields a different type of oil used for lubricating precision instruments.
Two to three TONS of lower quality oil can be recovered from their blubber and fat.
Only the males have teeth and only 1-2 sets and all in the lower jaw.
400 lbs. of oil in the head is hard to believe. I would like to see a video of how they are processed. Would also like to know how this precious commodity is priced.
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