The biggest creature that is found on earth is the whale. A new-born calf weighs eight tons. The whale’s weight is as much as the weight of 2,5oo people, while its tongue is as big as an elephant. Its mouth can contain two truckloads. Hence, we can imagine its offspring gaining weight at a rate of ten pounds per hour!
A whale though it lives in water is not a fish but a mammal. It gives birth to a single calf and nurses it as a cow nurse its calf. Curiously enough a whale cannot breathe under water, and it will be suffocated to death if it did not surface regularly to fill its lungs with fresh air. At the same time, it is helpless on land. It suffocates on land as well, since it cannot move its bulk enough to expand its chest to breathe.
Whales contribute much more to man’s comfort than any other inhabitant of sea. Whale oil once used to light the lamps of the civilized world, now turns the wheels of industry. It provides glycerin for explosives. Whale oil is also used in the manufacture of soap, paints, cosmetics, margarine, etc. Whale meat is still a part of regular diet of several European people. Whale liver is richer in vitamins than cod-liver oil.
Whales have also proved to be very dangerous to fishing boats and ships. A blue whale which could be 115 feet long and 150 tons heavy could be a real threat even to large ships. It is a wonder of creator that such a great mass matter is still moving and living in water.