The Sea of Cortez - Sperm whales of San Pedro Martir
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The Sea of Cortez
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Introduction
The Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California, is a unique corner of the Pacific Ocean. This remarkable young sea is thought to be around five million years old and home to nearly 900 species of fish and the widest variety of whales and dolphins found anywhere on Earth. Some of the greatest changes threatening the world's oceans today can be seen in this stretch of water.
Sperm whales, San Pedro Martir
Overview
The sperm whale is the world's largest predator and dives deeper than any other mammal - up to depths of over 2,000m. Its call reaches 220 decibels, the loudest made by any creature on Earth, so one of the best methods that scientists use to find these whales is by using underwater directional microphones.
With the largest brain in the animal kingdom, this creature is steeped in mystery. Dr Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse is studying what diseases are carried by these huge predators. As it's impossible to take blood samples in the wild, she analyses breath samples from the whales' blow-holes.
| Importance: | Relatively little is known about sperm whales compared to some other whales, so the scientific research into their health and how they contract diseases is crucial to their conservation. |
| Dive category: | This is a specialist dive which can only be carried out by professionals as part of scientific research. |
| Access: | Members of the public should not atempt to snorkel with sperm whales. To be able to film the sequence for Oceans, the team required a scientist present and permission from the government. |
Interesting for
- Deepest diving mammals
- ARKive gives a comprehensive summary of facts and figures on the sperm whale.
- Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
- Sperm whales' use of echolocation
- A scientific study on how sperm whales use echolocation to forage for food.
- How sperm whales use echolocation to catch prey
- Wildlife immunogenetics
- The Institute of Zoology website describes the work being done by scientist Dr Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse from the Zoological Society of London on diseases in large whales.
- Dr Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse
BBC related content
- Oceans ultimate dives: Tooni Mahto's free dive
- Oceans presenter biography: Tooni Mahto
- Oceans presenter biography: Philippe Cousteau
- Oceans image gallery: The Sea of Cortez
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