Mysterious migration activity of whales

Every year, when the Arctic or Antarctic seas fall in winter, the whales begin their 'round the world' journey. Scientists believe that they do so to avoid cold climates and a scarcity of food.

However, the real reason could be a very different cause.

Secret

Whales often migrate when the South-Arctic Sea falls in winter.

Whale is a marine animal with about 90 subspecies, divided into 2 sets of Mysticeti (horned whale, without teeth) and Odontoceti (whale with teeth). They are present throughout the ocean, but mostly feed around the two seas of the South and South Pole of the Earth.

The size of the whale is very large. Depending on the type, they can range from 6 - 25m and weigh up to hundreds of tons. The life span of a whale is also very high, maybe up to 90 years. Every year, when the Arctic or Antarctic sinks in the winter, the flocks of whales in turn leave. Their destination is warm tropical waters.

Until now, scientific research has not been able to confirm the cause of the migration of whales. They assumed that they left the North - South Pole to avoid freezing cold, to have children and to find food. But in fact, whales have a thickness of 30 cm or more of super-insulated, always warm to the body. Even if a baby is born in the South Pole or the North Sea, the baby whale can safely grow up. In addition, during the migratory life, they are mainly concerned with swimming and rarely stop hunting.

Cold-loving sea fish

Whales need to launch to warm waters for . bathing, skin care.

In the subclass of organisms, whales belong to the class of mammals. They lay and raise their babies with milk. The ancestor of the whale was originally a four-legged land animal. About 50 million years ago, they evolved into animals adapted to aquatic life.

Like other terrestrial mammals, whales are also hot-blooded. They have a stable body temperature and the ability to self-regulate and control body temperature very well when the environment worsens.

Whale's favorite food is marine creatures. Thanks to their enormous size, they often swallow instead of chewing. The Antarctic and Arctic seas are cold, but ready to eat. From the seals, seals, penguins on the shore, they are forced to enter the water to make a living, until the underwater population is extremely rich. The reason this big fish likes to hang around the South - North Pole is simply because there is no fear of starvation.

In terms of habitat conditions, whales need not migrate from the North-South polar sea. According to observations, some killer whales gave birth and raised babies right in the Antarctic sea in the middle of winter. Following the migratory journey of the whales, the researchers also discovered that they swim very quickly, often launching out of the water and then falling. Some whales even swim straight to the warm waters, then immediately return. Some also migrate more than once a year.

Swim far to . skinned

The super large skin of a whale is like a 'Noah ship' with parasites in the sea.

Upon closer inspection, the scientists realized that whale skin before and after the migration was completely different. If before the migration, it was brown, rugged due to algae, oysters, bacteria . clinging together when coming back, all skin will be glossy. They immediately diverted the theory, claiming that whales could migrate just to . skinned.

The common characteristic of terrestrial mammals is protected by a thick layer of fur except humans. We only have short, thin hairs that do not help to keep warm. Even so, both humans and other mammals constantly shed their hair, peeling off the epidermis. Whales are mammals that evolved in the direction of giving up the coat. But like their land relatives, their skin always has dead epidermis.

For whales, life in the cold waters is safe, but still worth the price. Thick whale skin is very favorable for algae, bacteria, small marine organisms to stick to. The longer you stay in the cold sea, the greater the number of 'occupants' . Many of them are harmful to the health of whales.

In defense, the whale switches to restrict blood flow to the epidermis. Although this method can temporarily cope with annoying parasites, it kills the outer layer of skin tissue faster. Whales are forced to launch to warm waters, thanks to friction with water and the heat of knocking away dead skin. The story of being born in warm waters turned out to be just 'a good thing'. Compared to enduring the cold sea water of the North-Antarctic, baby whales grow better in warm waters.

Migration also helps whales to expand their scope of exploitation of 'prey resources' . After the trip, they rejuvenate their skin and fill it up. Perhaps because of that, some new whales actively migrate 2-3 times a year.

• Gray whale with a record long migration distance of 10,880 km
• The longest migratory animals in nature