Sperm Whale

• IUCN: Vunerable
• Other names: Leach whale, catodon or cachalot whale
• Swahili name: Nyangumi tropiki
• Length: Males: max 19.2m and females: max 12.5m
• Weight: 30-50 tonnes males, 10-12 tonnes females
• Life expectancy: 60-70 years
• Abundance: Worldwide in tropical to oceanic waters
• Occurance: Year-round for females, males during austral winter; occasional live sightings on Kenya; majority of reports are of dead strandings
• Primary prey: Squid, sharks, skates and fish that occupy deep waters.
• Conservation status: Vessel strikes, Entanglement in fishing gear, Ocean noise
• Quick key identification: Single blowhole asymmetrically situated on the left side of the crown of the head. Extremely large head, taking up about 1/3 of their total body length with wrinkled skin just behind head. Lower lower jaw with white in part closest to teeth. Interior of mouth is very white. Low rounded dorsal hump and fully body predominantly black. There are between 18-26 large teeth on each side of lower jaw. Teeth in upper jaw rarely break through gums.

They are named after the waxy substance, spermaceti, found in their heads. Spermaceti was used in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles. Sperm whales were a primary target of the commercial whaling industry. They hunt for food during deep dives going down as far as 2,000 feet and up to 45 minutes. They can also dive over 10,000 feet for over 60 minutes. They surface usually for about 9 minutes at a time.