WHAT IS A WHALE?

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WHAT IS A WHALE?

A whale is a huge sea animal that looks like a fish. Whales are not fish. They belong to a group of animals called mammals. Whales give birth to live young, and feed them with their milk like all other mammals. Mammals, including whales, are warm-blooded animals. The body temperature of warm-blooded animals stays about the same regardless of the temperature of their environment. Whales have flukes, or horizontally flattened tail fins, that allow them to swim through the water easily. Fish have vertical tail fins. Whales have lungs and breathe through a blowhole. Fish breathe with gills. The whale is an enormous animal. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. It can grow up to 100 feet long and weigh over 150 tons. Not all whales are as large as the blue whale, but they are all extremely large animals. The body of a whale is covered with a smooth skin that helps them to slide through the water. Whales have a layer of fat under their skin called blubber. The whale's blubber is about six inches thick. It keeps the whale warm in the water. Whales live in groups called herds, and communicate with each other by making sounds called phonations. Scientists believe whales use phonations to keep in contact and to arrange group activities. Whales can be found in the deep waters of the oceans and are very interesting animals.

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ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN COMPLETE SENTENCES:

1. What group of animals do whales belong to? ___________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

2. Where can whales be found? ___________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

3. What is blubber? _____________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

4. Describe how the tail fin of a whale is different from the tail fin of a fish. ______________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

5. What are phonations? _________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

6. List four facts you learned about whales. ____________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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WHALE CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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Across 2. how whales communicate with each other 5. Whales give birth to ___ young. 6. where whales can be found 7. group of animals whales belong to 8. The blubber of a whale is about ___ inches thick.

Down 1. layer of fat under the skin of a whale 3. groups whales live in 4. way the tail fin of a whale moves 5. Whales have ____ to breathe

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NAME_______________________________________ DATE_____________________

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ANSWER PAGE

1. Whales belong to a group of animals called mammals. 2. Whales can be found in the deep waters of the oceans. 3. Blubber is a layer of fat beneath the skin of whales that

keeps the whale warm. 4. The tail fin of the whale is horizontal and the tail fin of the

fish is vertical. 5. Phonations are the sounds whales make to communicate

with each other. 6. ANSWERS WILL VARY

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ACROSS: 2. phonations 5. live 6. oceans 7. mammals 8. six

DOWN: 1. blubber 3. herd 4. sideways 5. lungs

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