Meet the order Cetacea and discover how a wolf-like land mammal gradually became the blue whale. It is a story 50 million years in the making.
Work through them in order, or start wherever your curiosity takes you.
Imagine being 50 million years in the past on a bank in the Tethys Sea. You spot an adventurous wolf-like mammal dipping its paws in the water. That was the first step in exchanging 300 million years of adaptation to a terrestrial environment with that of an aquatic one. It was a small decision at the time, but one that shaped the aquatic world we know today of enormous whales and acrobatic dolphins and porpoises.
The oceans seem very inhospitable at first glance, with their almost endless horizons, violent temperament, infinite darkness, and eerie silence underwater. So how is it that some mammals feel at home in this environment?
The baleen whales are generally huge and have the voices to match. The Odontoceti are much more varied in size and specialize in high-frequency sounds. But sound is just the beginning - what other superpowers do they possess?
Imagine having to choose between fighting and fleeing when a pack of killer whales closes in. Imagine thinking about every single breath, and raising a baby that drinks milk thicker than cream while you haven't eaten in months. For cetaceans, this is everyday life. How do they manage to defend themselves, breathe and raise their young in the open ocean?
Ready to begin? Start with the first lesson.
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