South African Wildlife Pictures - Whales

Whales are marine mammals. Like all mammals, whales breathe air into lungs, are warm-blooded, feed their young milk from mammary glands, and have some hair, although very little.

Females give birth to a single calf. Nursing time is long (more than one year in many species), which is associated with a strong bond between mother and young. For centuries whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of valuable raw materials. By the middle of the 20th century, large-scale industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered.