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    Whales - Reading Book For Children

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    didomessi
    The document provides information about different types of whales including their sizes, behaviors, habitats, and threats they face. It describes baleen and toothed whales, whale migration patterns, how whales communicate and hunt, and efforts to protect whale populations that were nearly driven to extinction by commercial whaling.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Whales - Reading Book For Children

    Uploaded by

    didomessi
    540 views16 pages
    The document provides information about different types of whales including their sizes, behaviors, habitats, and threats they face. It describes baleen and toothed whales, whale migration patterns, how whales communicate and hunt, and efforts to protect whale populations that were nearly driven to extinction by commercial whaling.

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    Whales_reading book for children

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    The document provides information about different types of whales including their sizes, behaviors, habitats, and threats they face. It describes baleen and toothed whales, whale migration patterns, how whales communicate and hunt, and efforts to protect whale populations that were nearly driven to extinction by commercial whaling.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    540 views16 pages

    Whales - Reading Book For Children

    Uploaded by

    didomessi
    The document provides information about different types of whales including their sizes, behaviors, habitats, and threats they face. It describes baleen and toothed whales, whale migration patterns, how whales communicate and hunt, and efforts to protect whale populations that were nearly driven to extinction by commercial whaling.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 16
    At a glance
    Powered by AI
    Whales are the largest animals on Earth. They can grow over 30 meters long and weigh as much as 20 school buses. Whales are mammals that breathe air through a blowhole and have thick blubber.

    Whales are mammals that give live birth and feed their young milk. They have thick blubber to keep them warm in cold water and store fat. They have paddle-like flippers and a tail fluke to move through water.

    Whales make loud sounds, some over 150 decibels, to communicate over long distances. Some whales like dolphins use echolocation to navigate and find food in dark waters.

    www.readinga-z.

    com
    Written by Vic Moors
    LEVELED READER • O
    Whales
    A Reading A–Z Level O Leveled Reader • Word Count: 1,106
    Visit www.readinga-z.com for thousands of books and materials.
    28

    Written by Vic Moors


    Illustrations by Paula Schricker
    www.readinga-z.com
    Photo Credits:
    Front cover, pages 4 (top right), 5, 10, 19, 25: © Corbis; title page,
    pages 4 (top left & left center), 6, 18, 20, back cover: © Eyewire;
    pages 4 (right center), 16: Captain Budd Christman, National Oceanic
    and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce; pages 8,
    21: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of
    Commerce; page 9: Commander John Bortniak, National Oceanic
    and Atmospheric Administration/ Department of Commerce; page
    12: © dolphinpink.com; page 13: Jan Roletto, National Oceanic and
    Atmospheric Administration/ Department of Commerce; page 14:
    Dave Glickman, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/
    Department of Commerce; pages 23 (far left), 24: © PhotoDisc; page
    23 (center left, center right, right): Comstock.
    Whales
    Level O Leveled Reader
    © 2007 Learning A–Z Correlation
    Written by Vic Moors LEVEL O
    Illustrations by Paula Schricker
    Fountas & Pinnell M
    All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 20
    www.readinga-z.com
    DRA 28
    27
    Glossary
    baleen (n.) special material in the mouth of certain whales that
    filters food from ocean water (p. 8)
    blubber (n.) a layer of fat found beneath the skin of whales (p. 15)
    buoyant (adj.) able to float (p. 10)
    blowhole (n.) opening on the top of a whale’s head used for
    breathing (p. 13)
    decibel (n.) a unit of sound (p. 17)
    extinction (n.) the process by which an entire group of animals
    or plants dies out (p. 23)
    narwhal (n.) a type of toothed whale, the male of which has
    one long, straight tusk (p. 7)
    pod (n.) a group of whales (p. 20)
    26

    Table of Contents
    Introduction ...........................................................................4
    Types of Whales .....................................................................5
    Where Whales Live .............................................................. 10
    Characteristics of Whales ..................................................... 13
    Whale Behavior .................................................................... 19
    Threatened Whales ..............................................................23
    Glossary ...............................................................................26

    3
    Introduction
    Whales are very large. In fact, they are the largest animals on Earth.
    And they are probably the largest animal that ever lived on Earth.
    They are bigger than any known dinosaur. Even elephants are small
    when compared to whales. A large blue whale can be over 33 meters
    (100 ft) long. It can weigh nearly as much as 20 school buses.
    Its heart is as big as a small car. A large elephant, in comparison,
    is 4.3 meters (13 ft) tall and weighs less than one school bus.
    Some whales are fairly small. These smaller whales are 1.2 to 1.8
    meters (4 to 6 ft) long. Dolphins are an example of a smaller whale.
    4
    Humpback whale showing large front flippers
    Efforts have been made to protect whales. As a result, some types of
    whales are increasing in number. But whales reproduce slowly. So it will
    take hundreds of years to get whale populations back to safe levels.
    25
    Pollution of the oceans is also threatening whales. Whales eat
    fish that have toxic chemicals in their bodies. As whales eat
    more and more of these fish, they become poisoned. Scientists
    also think that noise pollution is interfering with long-distance
    whale communication.
    24

    Closeup of a humpback whale


    Types of Whales
    There are about 75 kinds of whales. Most whales fall into one of
    two groups. One group has teeth. They are called toothed whales.
    The other group does not have teeth. They are called baleen whales.
    5
    Orca, or killer whale
    Toothed whales, which include dolphins and porpoises, have jaws
    lined with sharp teeth. They eat fish, squid, and other sea life.
    Larger toothed whales even eat seals. The killer whale, or orca,
    is a well-known toothed whale. Even though it is called a killer
    whale, there is no evidence that one has ever killed a human.
    6
    Threatened Whales
    For years, whales were hunted for their meat and blubber.
    The blubber was used for lamp oil. It was also used to make paint,
    soap, and cosmetics. As ways of hunting improved, more and
    more whales were killed. Many types of whales were hunted
    to near extinction.
    23
    Whales often seem to
    cooperate with each other.
    One type of cooperation
    is bubble feeding.
    When whales bubble feed,
    they form a circle.
    They release bubbles
    from their blowholes.
    The bubbles make a curtain
    that traps small fish.
    Each whale takes a turn
    eating fish inside the curtain.

    22

    One of the strangest whales is the narwhal. It is a toothed whale.


    The male narwhal has a large tusk growing straight out of the front
    of its head. The tusk can be up to eight feet long.
    7
    Baleen whales have a special material, called baleen, that hangs
    from their upper jaw. Baleen looks a little like a giant feather or
    comb. It filters small fish and very small sea life from the ocean.
    It seems strange that such large creatures eat such tiny food.
    Gray whale in the ice
    8
    Killer whale popping through the ice
    Many whales migrate to warm tropical waters in the winter.
    They go there to have their babies. In the summer they migrate
    to polar regions. They go to polar waters because of the rich source
    of food found there.
    21
    Whales usually swim in groups called pods. A pod consists of male
    and female whales of many different ages. The young whales swim
    with their mothers. Some pods are smaller and consist only of
    family members. Others are large and can have over 100 members.

    A pod of orcas swimming with dorsal fins exposed


    20

    Humpback whales feeding on krill

    Baleen whales feed in different ways. Some feed by moving slowly


    through water. They swim with their mouths open. As they do, they
    trap small animals from the water that passes through the baleen filter.
    The trapped food is then swallowed. Other baleen whales swallow
    huge gulps of water. A single gulp could fill a couple of swimming pools.
    A whale then forces the water out of its mouth through the baleen
    filters. The whale swallows the food filtered out of the water.
    9
    A humpback whale breaching
    Where Whales Live
    Most whales live in salt water. But a few live in freshwater rivers.
    Since water makes things buoyant, it helps support the weight
    of large whales.
    10
    Humpback whale
    Whale Behavior
    Whales spend much of their time diving below the water.
    Whales store lots of oxygen in their blood and muscles. When a
    whale dives, its heart slows down. This means it uses up less oxygen.
    Some whales can stay under water for a little less than an hour.
    Other whales can stay under for over an hour. Deep-diving sperm
    whales can stay under for up to 80 minutes.
    19
    Two bottle-nosed dolphins surfacing on the ocean

    Some whales, such as dolphins, make a clicking sound.


    The sound bounces off objects and returns to the dolphin.
    Dolphins use the echoes of sound to locate objects in the water.
    Sperm whales also use this method when hunting for fish and
    squid in deep, dark water.
    18

    Alaska Gray whales move between summer


    feeding grounds in cold waters and
    warm seas where baby whales are born.

    Winter United States


    Summer
    Main Route Mexico
    Alternate Route

    You can find saltwater whales in most of the world’s oceans.


    They range from the North Pole to the South Pole.
    Some whales migrate great distances. For example, some
    whales migrate thousands of miles to feed and reproduce.
    11
    Freshwater whales
    can be found in
    certain rivers. Pink
    dolphins live in the
    Amazon River. They
    have been found
    more than 1,600
    kilometers (1,000
    miles) up the river.
    Pink Amazon River dolphins
    12
    30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 dB
    The larger whales can make very loud sounds. A blue whale makes
    the loudest sound of any animal. Sound is measured in units called
    decibels. The sound of a blue whale can reach 150 decibels. In
    comparison, a jet engine is 110 decibels. So whales are very noisy
    creatures. A blue whale can be heard through the ocean for over 1,600
    kilometers (1,000 miles).
    17
    Whales have two large flippers that are paddle-shaped.
    They also have a large fan-shaped tail. These parts help whales
    move through the water. They use their flippers to steer.
    They use their tail to push themselves through the water.

    A humpback whale’s tail


    16

    Blowhole of a gray whale with barnacles

    Characteristics of Whales
    Whales are mammals. They have lungs and must surface for air.
    Whales do not breathe through their mouths. Instead, they breathe
    through a blowhole on the top of their head. Whales have a
    constant body temperature. A whale’s body temperature is
    99 degrees Fahrenheit. It is almost the same as a human’s.
    13
    Female whales give birth to live young. They feed their young
    with milk from special glands. This milk is rich in fat. A large female
    whale can produce more than 600 liters (150 gallons) of milk a day.
    Humpback whale with calf
    14
    Skin
    Arteries
    Blubber
    Muscle
    Whales have a thick layer of fat called blubber. The blubber lies
    just beneath the skin. It can be up to 50 centimeters (20 in) thick.
    The layer of blubber keeps whales warm when they are in very cold
    water. Whales store food as fat or blubber. They use the blubber for
    energy when food is scarce. And since blubber is lighter than other
    parts of the whale’s body, it keeps the whale from sinking.
    15

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