Sperm Whale (Cruz Calderhead)

Sperm Whales Fighting to Make a Comeback

Description & Ecology of Sperm Whales

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Spermwhale.shtml

A Sperm Whale (Scientific name: Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest toothed predator and whale in the world. Sperm Whales also have the largest brain out of any animal on Earth. Males can be as long as 18 meters, weighing up to 57 tons, living up to 60 years old. While females can reach up to 12.5 meters, weigh 24 tons, and live all the way to 80 years old. Their bodies are a dark grey color with a white long rod shaped jaw that has 26 pairs of teeth within it. Their dorsal fins are relatively small, non pointed, and thick. These dorsal fins are distinctive and scientists take pictures of them to identify them so they can follow their behavior. In their massive, very distinct, foreheads they have a large amount of a high quality oil called spermaceti which is how they got they name Sperm Whales. Like many whales they use echolocation to compensate for their relatively small eyes on the sides of their head. Using echolocation, Sperm Whales dive up to 1000 meters in search for their main food source, squid and fish. They eat a literal ton of fish and squid each day. Sperm whales are distributed all around the ocean from very warm tropical waters all the way to icy waters and everywhere in between. 

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Geographic & Population Changes of Sperm Whales

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Spermwhale.shtml

Sperm Whales have not had a change in their geographic distribution because they are found all over the ocean from tropical waters into higher latitudes where there is pack ice. The distribution has not gone down for these whales but the overall population density has taken a impact. So all around the ocean there has been less Sperm Whales mostly due to previous hunting for their spermaceti. There has been one geographic spot where the population has taken a more intense hit which is the South Pacific. The South Pacific is a known whaling grounds between Galapagos and Marquesas. 

Main Threats Today & Cause of Listing

Sperm whales main threat used to be whaling. Since they were hunted so intensely they are listed as a endangered animal. They used to be hunted for their spermaceti because it was a very high quality oil, spermaceti has now been replaced with more humane alternatives. The new reason to hunt for whales is for their meat which is consumed by humans. There is a loophole that crooked scientists take advantage of, where they say they're whaling for scientific reasons but they then sell the whale meat for public consumption. There are other potential threats to Sperm Whales today like collisions with vessels, entanglement in fishing gear, less squid and fish due to overfishing, habitat degradation, and disturbance from anthropogenic noise. There is also a potential threat to their health because of bio magnification of mercury.

http://stories.anmm.gov.au/why-save-whales/impact-of-whaling/

Recovery Plan

The original threat to Sperm Whales (whaling for their spermaceti) was acknowledged by the IWC’s whaling moratorium. The recovery plan wants to keep this strategy in place and make sure it now trys to face the problem of scientific whaling. A important part of this recovery plan is to get a accurate idea of the populations structure since it has been hard to keep record of since their populations are discrete. The recovery plan is trying to get a population size and distribution of the pods they travel in. Since sperm whales are widely found around the sea they will need all nations to work together to make this recovery plan work. 

  

What Can You do to Help Sperm Whales Thrive?

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Since most people do not actively whale or eat whale meat, the most impactful thing you can do is to donate to organizations that fight whaling activities and to organizations that study sperm whales without harming them. You can also lower your carbon footprint to reduce global warming which would reduce habitat degradation and lower the amount of mercury in the ocean. Finally you can buy your seafood from sustainable fisheries so there is more fish and squid in the ocean for them to eat. 

Other Resources to Deepen Your Knowledge of Sperm Whales

11 facts about sperm whales:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/60449/11-blubbery-facts-about-sperm-whales

EDGE (Endangered animals):

http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=109

NOAA fisheries:

http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/sperm-whale.html

Save the Whales:

http://www.savethewhales.org/about.html

Citations

"FINAL RECOVERY PLAN FOR THE SPERM WHALE." Office of Protected Resources National Marine Fisheries Service, Dec. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Society, National Geographic. "Sperm Whales, Sperm Whale Pictures, Sperm Whale Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

"Sperm Whale - National Wildlife Federation." National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

"Stop Whaling." WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.