Did you know:
Whales don’t have to strain to hold their breath, they have no drowning-reflex and don’t breath automatically, they can only breath consciously. So while land mammals usually will start gasping for air when still underwater for too long. Whales will not.
This means whales don’t drown (because drowning means inhaling water), they rather asphyxiate underwater if they can not reach the surface.
And that’s such a hard concept to sympathize with, right? We only know “asphyxiation” when we’re being choked. And that’s not what whales would be experiencing.
I’m sure it feels urgent, though. Imagine the horror of an asphyxiating whale with a broken tail, seeing the mirror above and knowing it just has to reach it…
What did I tell you about giving people anxiety
If you’re going to do it, do it properly, for a noble cause?
Sorry :( it’s a constant for me but that doesn’t mean other people need to be struck with it
Still, I’m proud of the mental image
How often does this happen? Has to be some kind of natural selection for whales. The whales that have an internal clock on how long they can stay under till death?
I believe it’s the most common cause of death for old whales (for all whales it’s sadly collisions with ships). They become too weak to swim to the surface and then just sink into the deep… horrible way to go.
I’d say it’s more peaceful than drowning. Anyone who did asphyxiation type stuff as kids would recognise that you just drift away. Drowning is panic, asphyxiation is drowsiness.
Yes, they have an internal clock of sorts. IIRC current theories are that they can sense changes in blood chemistry as their blood loses access to oxygen.
That makes sense, the reflex hits before the last possible second, which is normally a good thing, but would be bad for whales.
Fun fact: whales actually evolved from land animals
That’s just sealife with extra steps!
Not just Whales
Dolphins, Sea Snakes, Sea Turtles, Manatees etc.
50 million years ago four legged hoofed land mammals that are closely related to hippos eventually evolved to spend more and more time in the sea which led to whales, dolphins, porpoises etc.
Fun fun fact: Life actually went back and forth between land and water a number of times.
Tardigrades: evolve neither, sometimes shut their brains down and die only to resurrect like it’s no big deal
I wish i could do that.
