Photo Gallery: Whales

Northern Right Whale

Photograph courtesy NOAA

Northern right whales, hunted to near extinction, are the rarest of all large whales. Experts estimate that only several hundred exist in the wild.

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Sunlight Illuminates a Sperm Whale

Photograph by Brian J. Skerry

Sperm whales' heads are filled with a mysterious substance called spermaceti. Scientists have yet to understand its function, but believe it may help the animal regulate its buoyancy.

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Killer Whale Breaching

Photograph by Gerard Lacz/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes

Largest of the dolphins, the killer whale, or orca, is a highly successful predator, feeding on fish, seals, and sometimes whales.

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Gray Whale in Grice Bay

Photograph by Flip Nicklin

Every year, in late fall, gray whales leave their feeding grounds in Alaska to breed in the warm waters off Mexico's west coast. They return north in the summer, a round trip of some 12,500 miles (20,116 kilometers)!

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Humpback Whales in Singing Position

Photograph courtesy Dr. Louis M. Herman/NOAA

The plaintive song of the humpback whale can travel for great distances underwater.

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Northern Right Whale on the Surface

Photograph courtesy NOAA

The white bumps on a right whale's head are skin abrasions called callosities. Extensive hunting has dramatically reduced this whale's numbers, and estimates are that only about 300 remain in the North Atlantic.

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Beluga Whale Swimming

Photograph by Brian J. Skerry

The beluga, or white whale, is one of the smallest species of whale. Their distinctive color and prominent foreheads make them easily identifiable.

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Gray Whale

Photograph courtesy NOAA

A barnacle-encrusted gray whale pokes its head above water in Scammon Lagoon off Baja California.

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Underwater View of a Young Blue Whale

Photograph by Flip Nicklin

Earth's largest animal, the endangered blue whale can eat some 4 to 8 tons (3.6 to 7.3 metric tons) of krill per day.