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The largest mammals on earth are actually gentle giants who take exceptional care of their young ones. Whales are beautiful, graceful, and mysterious creatures that nurture their young, bond, play, sing, and work together.

Whales have existed on the planet for over 50 million years; more than 160 times longer than humans. They are the largest, longest-living, and farthest-travelling mammals on the planet, and also critical to the oceans. Whale faeces provides essential nutrition for phytoplankton, a type of marine algae that is necessary for the entire ocean food chain to function.

Declining numbers

Despite this, their numbers are diminishing, due to being hunted in large numbers. Although commercial whaling has largely ended, some countries continue to hunt whales for their meat. Other factors for their near extinction are human impact, climate change, noise pollution, shipping traffic, toxic compounds, and microplastics in the ocean.

Industrial chemicals that have been eroding the ocean environment also have an impact on whale populations. Known as persistent organic pollutants,these chemicals are consumed by whales and are can be passed down through generations. Known as legacy pollutants, this may have an impact on their reproductive system leading to the animals not reproducing as they once did.

A very rare and unusual species is the Sei Whale, found in subtropical, temperate, and subpolar waters around the world. The name comes from the Norwegian word “seje”, as the whale is often found with pollock in Norway. During the 19th and 20th centuries, an estimated 300,000 Sei Whales were killed for meat and oil. Commercial whaling has caused a significant decrease in the global population of this species. One of the fastest whales, this deep-water species usually lives in a pod, feeding and migrating between the cool Arctic waters in summer and the warmer waters of Azores in winter.

Did you know

Whales and dolphins use sound for all their basic life functions. Man-made noise has a significant impact on the soundscapes that whales and dolphins have adapted to over millions of years.

We’re experiencing a massive shift in our global ecosystems, and no one knows what the long-term consequences will be for cetacean species, humans, and all wildlife on the planet. To turn things around, we must all become more aware of how our lives on land impact life on the sea. The world of the whale is our world. If they don’t breathe, none of us will be able to.

Since the time humans evolved, whenever they needed inspiration, ideas or solutions to problems, all they had to do was look to nature. Right from telling the time using the shadow of the sun to being inspired by the birds to build flying machines, humans have been mimicking the systems, designs and elements in nature. This is known as biomimicry.

Below are a few examples of biomimicry. Can you guess the inventions or the animals that inspired them?