Whale Monodontidae (belugas and narwhals), Physeteridae (the sperm whale), Kogiidae (the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale), and Ziphiidae (the beaked whales). Whales are creatures of the open ocean; they feed, mate, give birth, suckle and raise their young at sea. So extreme is their adaptation to life underwater that they are unable to survive on land. Whales range in size from the and dwarf sperm whale to the and blue whale, which is the largest creature that has ever lived. The sperm whale is the largest toothed predator on earth. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the females are larger
Baleen whale SeaWorld San Diego and, after 14 months, was released because it got too big to take care of. Reaching and , J.J. was the largest creature to be kept in captivity. The Mito Aquarium in Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan, housed three minke whales in the nearby bay enclosed by nets. One survived for three months, another (a calf) survived for two weeks, and another was kept for over a month before breaking through the nets. Baleen whale Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), known earlier as whalebone whales, form a parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). They are a