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Why do sperm whales sleep vertically? The scene is mysterious and inexplicably terrifying

author:Cloud traces are happy to talk

The sperm whale is the star of the whale family, 18 meters long and weighing more than 50 tons, it is the largest toothed whale, and the valuable ambergris is its secretion. In 2008, British and Japanese biologists discovered that sperm whales sleep in a different, peculiar and mysterious way.

The sperm whales are surrounded by whale heads, and the collective heads stand in the sea facing the sea, like gray-brown stone pillars or sarcophagi, as if performing some mysterious ritual, and under the background of the deep ocean, there is a sense of inexplicable horror.

Why do sperm whales sleep vertically? The scene is mysterious and inexplicably terrifying

Why do sperm whales sleep collectively vertically?

In fact, it is a fluke to find the strange sleeping posture of the sperm whale, because the sperm whale is uncertain, it migrates north and south in the ocean, with a speed of up to more than ten nautical miles per hour, and it is the most diving mammal, diving up to 2200 meters, diving time up to 2 hours, just like the dragon sees the beginning and does not see the end. In addition, sperm whales can live for more than 70 years, but sleep for about 7%. Such a lack of awareness undoubtedly increases the difficulty of discovery.

As for the reason why sperm whale swarms sleep vertically, scientists are not currently completely sure, but there is the following speculation.

Why do sperm whales sleep vertically? The scene is mysterious and inexplicably terrifying

The front half of the sperm whale is huge, accounting for only one-third of the head, as well as the lungs of the breath, and the back half of the body is mostly muscles and bones. The front half of the sperm whale has more buoyancy than the back half of the body, and when it sleeps, under the influence of buoyancy, the head will face the sea.

May be associated with thousands of liters of brain oil on the head of sperm whales. Brain oil is a colorless transparent substance that was once used to make whale wax, which is a regulator for sperm whales to regulate their ups and downs. Sperm whales use local blood heat to melt brain oil and pull up when the density is less than seawater; Inhaling the icy sea water solidifies the brain oil and drives it to dive.

Sperm whales need to breathe on the surface of the water and are in a state of holding their breath under the water. In order to wake up more easily to the surface of the water to breathe, sperm whales adjust the brain oil to float in advance. In addition, the head is vertically upwards, which also prevents sperm whales from swimming into the deep sea when they are asleep and confused. This is not only closer to the surface of the water, but also better perceives the light, ensuring that you can swim to the surface of the sea as quickly and accurately as possible to breathe.

Why do sperm whales sleep vertically? The scene is mysterious and inexplicably terrifying

sperm whale

Do sperm whales sleep with other animals?

One might ask, do sperm whales sleep in groups vertically, without sentry alerts, and without fear of being attacked by other animals?

Adult male sperm whales have few natural predators except humans, but juvenile and skinny female whales are at risk of being attacked by killer whales. In 1997, in the waters off California, 35 killer whales besieged nine sperm whales. The largest of these, the female sperm whales, at the expense of themselves, help other smaller adult, sub-adult sperm whales and a juvenile whale to make a living. Researchers speculate that at least three more sperm whales will die from their injuries.

Why do sperm whales sleep vertically? The scene is mysterious and inexplicably terrifying

killer whale

Sperm whales actually perform a special kind of monohemisphere slow-wave sleep, in which half of the brain goes to sleep and the other half of the brain stays awake. This has many advantages, not only to prevent sneak attacks, but also to pay attention to whether the oxygen is enough, but also to maintain a state of exercise.

Sperm whales need to keep moving. Sperm whales move to maintain their relative positions against each other in case they are washed away by the current. In addition, the heat dissipation capacity of water is much greater than that of air, especially in cold waters. Sperm whales are mammals that require constant exercise to generate heat in order to maintain body temperature. In order to ensure that the heat is sufficient, the sperm whale sleep time is very short, only about 20 minutes at a time.

Creatures have their own characteristics in the path of evolution. What other reasons do you think the sperm whale sleeps vertically?

#抹香鲸 #

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