Steven Buttice, Age 10, of Rockford, I11., for his question:
Why do whales commit suicide?
The whales and their kinfolk belong to a family of furry mammals that once coped with life on the dry land. About 50 million years ago, these smart fellows returned to the seas where life was easier and food was very plentiful. Whales and porpoises descended from these pioneers. So did the gentle blue baleen whale, the biggest animal which ever lived on our planet.
Once in a while we read a news item about a whale which seems to have committed suicide. His giant body is stranded helpless in the shallow waters upon some beach. Sometimes several whales become stranded and perish in the tricky tidal waters of a bay. But these unlucky fellows did not plan to end their lives. What’s more, this way of dying is very painful to the bulky giants, and whales are very sensitive to pain.
There are about 100 members of the whale family. Some are the dolphins and porpoises, which are far too smart to want to end their happy lives. Some are toothed whales, like the 60 foot sperm whale which enjoys plunging down miles below the surface of the sea. Some are baleen whales which love to loll lazily in polar waters rich in plankton.
The whales enjoy the company of their relatives. From four to 40 of them travel in a family group called a pod, and experts suspect that these very intelligent animals may gossip and chatter with each other in a language of their own. Certainly the friendly fellows help and warn and try to protect each other. Such happy, well adjusted creature are not likely to want to destroy their pleasant lives.
But sometimes things go wrong for a whale or for a whole pod of whales. The big body of a whale is supported on all. Sides by the buoyancy of the sea. On land, the force of gravity would crush his massive bulk to the ground. This is what happens when the sea going giant gets trapped in the tidal waters of a shallow beach. When the tide ebbs, he is left high and dry with no buoyant water to support him.. His ribs and lungs, his heart and intestines are crushed under his own massive weight. This tragic accident occurs when he follows his food supply into shallow tidal waters.
Whales have a few, but not many natural enemies in the sea. Yet, the experts predict that the splendid creatures soon may be gone from our world. They are hunted without mercy by modern factory ships that can slaughter and butcher 50 of the gentle giants in a single day. The latest news is very sad. In the past year, only a few of the giant blue whales were sighted. Perhaps these lonely escapees will be unable to find mates, and our planet's largest animal will perish forever.