Sperm Whale diving record shattered

Apparently Beaked whales, one of the lesser known families of whales, dove a record 6,230 feet! This easily surpasses the previous record of 4,000 feet by the sperm whale.

Interesting... I would think that a sperm whale, being much larger, could dive deeper. You would think they have greater lung capacity? Perhaps whatever the beaked whales are eating is even further down than the infamous giant squid preferred by sperm whales.... I dunno.

According to the article it seems Beaked whales return to the surface with an "oxygen debt" after such extreme dives. So it takes them longer to recover than the sperm whale.


science.monstersandcritics.com...

interesting, but if you think a little deeper maybe a smaller whale would be better, the smaller the size the less to be compressed by the pressure of water

interesting, but if you think a little deeper maybe a smaller whale would be better, the smaller the size the less to be compressed by the pressure of water

A good thought but now I'm unsure about my original post lol. It looks as if perhaps 6,230 ft is the deepest dive recorded. However, there is speculation that sperm whales can dive as deep as 3km (9750 ft).

www.omplace.com...
whale.wheelock.edu...

but other sites claim 3000-4000 ft...

www.wired.com...


Yes, a smaller size whale means less total area for the fluid to exert pressure on. But larger whales may be denser with more blubber and muscle.

Also, an interesting note... in case you were ever curious

On the other hand, in humans and other land mammals, when under great pressures, when the lung squeezes the small veins (capillaries) inside it suffer ruptures and they start bleeding (called a pulmonary edema). In the marine mammals and in the, Sperm whale in particular, because the thoracic cavity is flexible, the lungs can collapse (be squeezed), without rupture of the capillaries.