Sperm Whale

Hello there! My name is Cachalot, but you can call me a Sperm Whale. I am one of the biggest animals in the whole wide ocean! My head is super big and blocky—it's my favorite feature. I use echolocation, facilitated by the spermaceti organ in my head, to navigate and hunt in deep waters. I swim with my family, and we all love to swish our big tails in the water to say hello.

When I get hungry, I take a great big breath and dive down, down, down into the ocean where the sun doesn't shine. It is very dark down there, but I am a great hunter. My favorite snack is small to medium-sized squid, and I occasionally consume giant squid. Finding them is a fun game for me! I swim usually at 4 to 5 mph but can reach speeds up to 23 mph in short bursts and chase them for my dinner. Yum, yum!

How do I talk to my family? We don't use words like you do. We make special clicking sounds! Click, click, click! That is how we tell each other where we are and that we're safe. I am a very important part of the ocean. By eating squid, I help keep the ocean world balanced and healthy for all my fishy friends. I love my big ocean home!