- Dut: walvisachtigen
- Eng: cetaceans (whales and dolphins)
- Fren: cétacés (baleines et dauphins)
- Ger: Walartige
- Lat: Cetacea
- Dan: Cetacean
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Cetaceans
Cetaceans is the official name for the whale family. When you hear the word 'whale', you usually picture a giant animal. However, porpoises which are only 1.5 meters long also fall under cetaceans. The predecessors of the cetaceans lived on land. During the Tertiary period (around 50 million years ago), a group of predator-like mammals moved to coastal regions. They slowly adapted to swimming in the sea. They were animals without back legs, but had fins and a wide flattened tail.
On Texel
Sometimes you can see whales off of Texel, such as humpbacks in 2007 and 2009. Dead whales also sometimes wash ashore. Ecomare's collection contains skeletal parts from dozens of species. In the 17th, 18th and 20th century, there were residents on the island that went whale hunting, but nothing compared to Amelanders. A few trophies from whales can be found on Texel, including in the Maritime and Beachcombing Museum.
- Teeth or seaves
- Killer whale, marijke de boer
Cetaceans can be subdivided into baleen whales and toothed whales. Most baleen whales are gigantic. They have an enormous toothless mouth. Instead of teeth they have baleen, which are plates made from horn-like material and hang in rows in the palate of the upper jaw. The whales use these baleen plates to filter out their food. Most of these whales live off of krill: shrimp-like animals found in plentiful amounts in the open sea. They will also consume small fish such as herring. Toothed whales are generally much smaller than baleen whales. Only sperm whales are comparable in length with baleen whales. Dolphins and porpoises are also toothed whales. They eat primarily fish or squid.
- Distribution in the North Sea
- Sperm whales, marijke de boer
Porpoises, dolphins and larger whales are difficult to observe in the open sea because they swim under water. Large whales are rarely ever observed in the North Sea. Only the minke whale, the smallest baleen whale (8 meters), is regularly seen in the northern North Sea. If a sperm whale or any other large whale species ends up in the shallow southern North Sea, then it is usually a case of a lost or sick animal. Their chances of survival are slight and they eventually wash ashore somewhere after dying. Because the North Sea is warming due to climate changes, an increasing number of whale species from warmer regions are being found in the North Sea, such as Risso's dophins, orcas and white-nosed dolphins.
- Dolphin rehabilitation
- porpoise on Texel, ecomare, salko de wolf
Live whales that are large in size and wash ashore cannot be saved. They are too large and too heavy and collapse under their own weight. There is only a chance when they are still floating in water and can be chased away using noises. Porpoises and dolphins are easier because of their size but even these animals are much more difficult to care for than seals. Nevertheless, the organization SOS Dolphins located at the Dolphinarium in Hardewijk tries to save dolphins as often as possible. Various centers along the coast, including Ecomare on Texel, have special equipment for the first aid care of dolphins, after which the animals are transported to Hardewijk. If they succeed in saving the animal, it is returned to the sea.
In 2010, a young female orca was caught in the Wadden Sea. She was seriously weakened and practically starved to death. She was captured and brought to the Dolphinarium. The staff of SOS-dolphin are doing their very best to make the young orca, named Morgan, healthy enough to return to the sea.
- Exceptional cetaceans along the Dutch coast
WWW
See also
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