Sperm Whales: The Deep Divers of the Ocean!

Amazing Fact: Sperm whales can hold their breath for over an hour and dive nearly 4,000 feet deep to hunt for giant squid and other prey! These deep divers are the largest toothed whales on Earth and have the biggest brain of any animal that has ever lived.

Masters of the Deep

Down in the depths, where there is no light, Sperm whales hunt using echolocation. The whale produces a series of loud clicks which travel through the water and bounce off objects. The reflected sound bounces back to the whale, which interprets the echo.

Using this technique, many kinds of whales and dolphins can “see” in complete darkness. Sperm whales can most likely determine the size, direction and distance of prey, which helps them hunt deep below where there is no light.

The only problem with echolocation is that it can also give away the presence of the whale if the prey hears it. Lucky for Sperm whales that giant squid can’t hear.

Close-up view of a sperm whale’s blowhole above the ocean surface

The Blow: Hard to Spot

Seeing a Sperm whale on the water can be tough because the spout is not very high. Unlike other whales that have a tall, vertical blow, the Sperm whale’s blow comes out at an angle forward and to the left, making it distinctive but harder to spot from a distance.

Sperm Whale Facts

Biggest Brain

Largest brain of any animal ever

3,900+ Feet

Documented dive depth (possibly 10,000+!)

60+ Minutes

Can hold breath over an hour

550 ft/min

Astonishing descent speed

440 lbs

40-foot giant squid found whole in stomach

Not Endangered

Only great whale with stable population (~1 million)

Sperm Whale Gallery

A Sperm whale calf investigating the camera!

The Sperm Whale’s blow hole is at an angle on the left side of its head. This causes its blow to shoot to the left. You can see in this photo how the blowhole looks like a pair of lips, and it works like one too. The whale closes the blowhole when it dives to keep the water out.

The Sperm Whale’s blow hole is at an angle on the left side of its head. This causes its blow to shoot to the left. You can see in this photo how the blowhole looks like a pair of lips, and it works like one too. The whale closes the blowhole when it dives to keep the water out.

These products were made from Sperm whales back in the whaling days. Sperm whale oil was considered the finest lubricating oil on Earth.

Large sperm whale tooth held in a human hand showing scale and texture

The tooth of a Sperm whale can get even bigger than this. A big one can be 8 inches long!

A Sperm whale playing at the surface of the Caribbean.

A Sperm whale and human

The Mysterious Spermaceti Organ

Historic bottles of spermaceti oil once used for lamps and lubrication

The Sperm whale gets its name from the spermaceti organ which fills most of its huge head. In the 18th and 19th centuries, New England whalers sought out the Sperm whale for the valuable spermaceti oil, which makes an exceptionally fine lubricant.

Nobody is absolutely sure what the spermaceti organ actually does for the whale, but there are two prevalent theories:

Theory 1: Buoyancy Control

One theory suggests that the organ is a buoyancy control device. The waxy oil within the organ has a melting point of between 25-35 degrees C (77-95 degrees Fahrenheit). By controlling blood flow to the organ (and therefore its temperature), the whale might be able to control whether the wax is liquid or solid.

If the wax is solid, it contracts and becomes more dense, making the whale sink better. When melted again, the wax expands, making the whale less dense. This technique could be a way of assisting the whale with diving and ascending.

Theory 2: Echolocation Focus

The other theory suggests that the organ is used to focus and control the beam of sound that the whale uses for echolocation. The massive organ may act like an acoustic lens, directing and amplifying the whale’s clicks.

For all we know, both theories could be right!

Historical Note: Sperm whale oil was considered the finest lubricating oil on Earth during the whaling era. These products were made from Sperm whales back in the whaling days before synthetic alternatives were developed.

Incredible Diving Abilities

Deep Diving Champions

Because of an uncanny ability to efficiently store oxygen in their blood and muscles, adult Sperm whales can stay submerged well over an hour without taking a breath!

They have been tracked by sonar diving to depths of 3,900 feet. However, one Sperm whale caught by a whaling ship in water 10,000 feet deep had a bottom-dwelling shark in its stomach, leading researchers to believe that the Sperm whale can dive a lot deeper than seems possible.

Just as amazing is how fast the whales may reach that depth. In one study, a Sperm whale descended at an astonishing 550 feet per minute!

Teeth & Feeding

The Sperm whale has a mouth full of conical teeth located only in the lower jaw. They fit into sockets in the roof of the mouth. They look pretty mean, but probably aren’t all that important in feeding.

Most of the items recovered from Sperm whale stomachs are not even chewed, but swallowed whole. An intact 40 foot-long giant squid weighing 440 pounds was recovered from a Sperm whale!

Sperm whales with severely mangled jaws have been seen in perfect health, apparently catching food just fine without the complete use of their teeth.

Battle Scars from Giant Squid

This doesn’t mean that the squid doesn’t fight back. Many Sperm whales have scars from encounters with squid, including big sucker marks on their head and snout. The sucker disks on giant squid contain sharp hooks to dig into prey. They also dig into Sperm whales, leaving life-long scars.

The tooth of a Sperm whale can be about 4 inches long, but a big one can be 8 inches long!

Ambergris: The Whale’s Treasure

Giant squid, like all squid, have sharp beaks, not unlike those of a parrot. They use them for biting into the fish and invertebrates that they eat. In the stomach of a Sperm whale, those beaks can accumulate. In fact, Sperm whales are often found to have thousands of the beaks in their stomachs!

But the sharp beaks irritate the stomach lining. As a reaction to the irritation of all the squid beaks, the whale produces in its intestines a cholesterol derivative which has come to be called ambergris.

Discovery & Uses

First discovered in ancient times as a substance of unknown origin which would wash ashore, it wasn’t until the whaling era that the true source of the material was found.

When it is first removed from a whale, ambergris is a thick, black, foul-smelling liquid. Later, it hardens into a waxy aromatic substance. When heated, it produces a pleasant earthy aroma.

It was used as a fixative in perfumes because it causes the scent of perfume to last much longer. The Greeks, Chinese, Japanese and Arabs have all held ambergris in high regard.

Today we have synthetic substances which accomplish the same thing, so there is no need to hunt whales for it, and trade in ambergris is now banned worldwide by treaty. Yet, every once in a while a rare piece will still wash ashore somewhere.

Conservation Status

A Hopeful Story

During the 1970’s, the Save The Whale movement brought the plight of whales to international recognition. Many people now believe that whales are “saved.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. All around the world, whaling still exists. Many countries continue to hunt whales, in spite of international treaties to protect them.

In New England, Hawaii, Alaska and many other places where whales are common, the whale watching industry has proven to make far better financial sense than whale hunting. Once a whale is killed, it is gone. But watching whales preserves not only the whales themselves, but the industry and the income.

Good News: The Sperm whale probably has one of the most stable populations of any whale on Earth, possibly more than a million. This means that the Sperm whale is the only great whale species which is not endangered.

Experience Recommendation: I would encourage anyone even remotely interested in whales to go on a whale watch and see a whale up close. There is nothing like the experience of seeing a whale—any whale—in the flesh. The more people who see whales up close, the better chance we will have to protect the precious few whales we have left.

Sperm Whale Facts

Biggest Brain

Largest brain of any animal ever

3,900+ Feet

Documented dive depth (possibly 10,000+!)

60+ Minutes

Can hold breath over an hour

550 ft/min

Astonishing descent speed

440 lbs

40-foot giant squid found whole in stomach

Not Endangered

Only great whale with stable population (~1 million)

Sperm Whale Gallery

A Sperm whale calf investigating the camera!

The Sperm Whale’s blow hole is at an angle on the left side of its head. This causes its blow to shoot to the left. You can see in this photo how the blowhole looks like a pair of lips, and it works like one too. The whale closes the blowhole when it dives to keep the water out.

These products were made from Sperm whales back in the whaling days. Sperm whale oil was considered the finest lubricating oil on Earth.

The tooth of a Sperm whale can get even bigger than this. A big one can be 8 inches long!

A Sperm whale playing at the surface of the Caribbean.

A Sperm whale and human

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