# Sperm Whale (*Physeter macrocephalus*)

Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales! They are gentle giants that live in the ocean and can dive deep to find their favorite food, squid.

- **Category:** [Mammals](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/mammal)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 2/5 · Low
- **Habitat:** Deep ocean waters
- **Also known as:** Cachalot

![Sperm Whale](https://res.cloudinary.com/drieglelr/image/upload/v1771426056/objects/4517.jpg)

## Appearance

The Sperm Whale has a massive, block-shaped head that makes up about one-third of its body. Its skin is usually dark grey and often looks wrinkled. A unique S-shaped blowhole is located on the left side of its head, not in the center like other whales.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Cetacea
- **Family:** Physeteridae
- **Genus:** Physeter

## Sperm whale, up close

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest toothed whale: adult males reach about 16 m and 41 t, females about 11–12 m. It hunts squid and fish in the deep ocean, diving for about 45 minutes at a time and finding prey with powerful sonar clicks made in its giant, box-shaped head. Hunted for its oil for nearly two centuries, it lives in all deep oceans and is listed as Vulnerable.

Also called: Cachalot, Physeter catodon (older scientific name).

An almost 8 kg brain, the largest nose in the world and clicks that scan the pitch-dark deep. Spin the whale, x-ray its head, dive with it, then test yourself.

### Special abilities

- **Mega Click** (236 dB re 1 µPa: the loudest click measured): Sperm whales fire extremely powerful clicks from their giant nose: up to 236 dB re 1 µPa, measured straight in front of the whale. [11][3]
  - Each click lasts only about 100 µs (a ten-thousandth of a second) and is beamed forward like a torch beam, so it is loudest straight ahead.
  - Underwater decibels use a different starting point from decibels in air, and sound travels differently in water. So 236 dB in the sea is not the same as 236 dB at a concert: the numbers can't be compared directly.
  - The click is made by pushing air past “phonic lips” in the nose, as dolphins do. It works even deep down, when the air in the nose is squeezed to less than 2% of its volume at the surface.
- **Squid Sonar** (18 creaks per hunting dive): In the dark deep, sperm whales hunt by echolocation. Regular clicks scan far ahead, then a fast buzz of clicks, a “creak”, homes in on a squid. [12][7]
  - Search clicks come every 0.5–2 s. The echoes tell the whale what is ahead and how far away it is.
  - On average a whale descends 392 m between its first click and its first creak, so the clicks work as long-range sonar.
  - 99.8% of creaks happen in the deepest half of a dive, where the hunting is. A typical dive has about 18 of them.
  - Clicking during one dive (about 45 min): Clicking: 81% of the dive
- **Coda Chat** (7 vocal clans found in the Pacific): Sperm whales talk in codas: short, rhythmic patterns of clicks. Families from different clans use different coda dialects. [13][14][15][16]
  - Codas are click patterns used in social moments, mostly by the females and young of a family unit.
  - A 2022 study sorted 23,429 codas from 23 Pacific sites into seven clans. Some codas work like a badge that shows which clan a whale belongs to.
  - In 2024, Project CETI researchers proposed that codas are built from smaller features (rhythm, tempo, “rubato” and “ornamentation”) that combine like a sound alphabet. What any coda means is still unknown.
- **Deep Diver** (45 min typical hunting dive): A sperm whale spends most of its life on long, deep dives, holding one breath for about 45 minutes and hunting hundreds of metres below the surface. [17][7][10][18]
  - Tags show typical dives of 30–45 min to 400–1,200 m, followed by a break of about 9–10 min at the surface.
  - One radio-tagged whale made 93 deep dives averaging 990 m. The deepest reached 1,330 m and the longest lasted 65 min.
  - Over several weeks in the Gulf of California, tagged whales occasionally dived as deep as 1,500 m.
  - Average deepest dive, by region: Atlantic 985 m; Ligurian Sea 827 m; Gulf of Mexico 644 m
- **Giant Nose** (1/3 of the body is head): X-ray the head: most of it is nose. The spermaceti organ and the junk below it form a giant sound machine, with the brain tucked in behind. [1][2][4]
  - The spermaceti organ is a huge sac of oil that helps focus sound. For body size, it is far bigger than the matching part of a dolphin's nose.
  - Males have a bigger spermaceti organ than females. One idea is that big males use their clicks to impress, but what the giant nose is for, beyond sound, is still debated.
  - Behind the nose sits a brain of almost 8 kg. Teeth grow only in the lower jaw: 20–26 on each side.
- **Upright Nap** (90° head up or head down; still debated): Sperm whales rest hanging upright just under the surface, head up or head down, often in groups. Scientists think this is how they sleep. [19][17][1]
  - The upright position is thought to keep resting whales away from the waves without the cost of swimming deeper.
  - While resting they let out bubbles. A 2026 study of 42 tagged whales in Norway suggests this keeps them balanced, neither floating up nor sinking.
  - Tags also record quiet dives with very little movement, probably for rest. Resting whales are easy to run into, so boats should keep well clear.
- **Fluke Power** (295 km travelled by one whale in 4.6 days): Wide tail flukes drive the sperm whale on long, steady journeys between hunting grounds, from warm seas to the edge of the polar ice. [10][1][20]
  - One radio-tagged 12 m whale travelled 295 km in 4.6 days, at an average of 2.6 km/h, diving all the way.
  - Adult males make long journeys into cooler waters. Females and young stay in warm waters all year.
  - Sperm whales range from the equator to the edge of the pack ice. Recorders off east Antarctica pick them up mostly when the ice clears.

### Body parts

- **Head** (1/3 of the body length) [1][2][3]
  - The huge, box-shaped head makes up about a third of the whole body length.
  - Most of it is nose: the sperm whale has the largest nose of any animal.
  - This nose is a sound machine. It makes the clicks the whale uses to hunt and to talk.
- **Spermaceti organ** [1][2][3]
  - A giant sac of oil inside the head that helps focus sound. Below it lies the junk, another part of the same sound-making nose.
  - For its body size, it is far bigger than the matching part of a dolphin's nose, and it is bigger in males than in females.
  - Despite the name, spermaceti has nothing to do with sperm. Whalers once used it in oil lamps, lubricants and candles.
- **Brain** (almost 8 kg brain mass) [4][5]
  - At almost 8 kg, it is the heaviest brain of any living animal.
  - Big male killer whales can have brains just as heavy, so the two share the record.
  - The cerebellum (the back part of the brain) is only about 7% of the sperm whale's brain, but almost 14% in killer whales.
- **Teeth** (20–26 teeth on each side of the lower jaw) [1][6]
  - The long, narrow lower jaw holds 20–26 big, cone-shaped teeth on each side.
  - Teeth in the upper jaw rarely break through the gums, so almost all the working teeth are in the lower jaw.
  - Each tooth can weigh about 1 kg.
- **Blowhole** (9 min breathing at the surface between dives) [7][1]
  - The single blowhole sits at the front of the head, set to the left, so the blow angles forward.
  - After a typical 45-minute dive, a sperm whale breathes at the surface for about 9 minutes before diving again.
  - Sperm whales often lie still at the surface, typically for up to 10 minutes. That is when ships can hit them.
- **Eyes** [6][7]
  - Sperm whales hunt in the dark depths, where there is little or no sunlight, so sound matters more than sight.
  - They start clicking soon after diving and use the echoes, not their eyes, to find prey hundreds of metres below.
- **Stomach** (3–3.5% of body weight eaten per day) [1][6][8]
  - Sperm whales eat mostly deep-sea squid, including giant squid, plus sharks, skates and fish.
  - Every day a sperm whale eats about 3–3.5% of its body weight: for a 14 t female, that is roughly 420–490 kg of food.
  - Hard squid beaks can't be digested. Most are brought back up, but some stay in the gut, where ambergris can slowly form around them.
- **Calf** (about 4 m long at birth) [1][6][9]
  - A single calf is born after 14–16 months of pregnancy. It is about 4 m long and weighs about 1,000 kg.
  - Calves start eating solid food before they are one, but keep drinking milk for several years.
  - While the mother dives, other members of the family stay with the calf at the surface, like babysitters.
- **Flukes** (2.6 km/h average speed of one tagged whale) [10]
  - The wide tail flukes drive the whale along with slow, steady beats.
  - One radio-tagged 12 m whale covered 295 km in 4.6 days, diving all the way, at an average of 2.6 km/h.

### Stats

| Stat | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Length (adult male) | up to 16 m | Females grow to about 11–12 m. [1] |
| Weight (adult male) | about 41 t | Females weigh about 14 t (NOAA gives 45 and 15 US tons).; A male weighs about as much as 3 females [1] |
| Brain | almost 8 kg | The heaviest brain of any living animal, matched only by big male killer whales. [4][5] |
| Teeth | 40–52 | 20–26 on each side of the lower jaw, each up to about 1 kg. [1][6] |
| Hunting dive | 45 min | Average dive, then about 9 min at the surface.; Diving for 83% of each dive cycle [7] |
| Hunting depth | 400–1,200 m | Usual depths in tag studies; occasionally down to about 1,500 m. [17][18] |
| Loudest click | 236 dB re 1 µPa | Measured head-on, under water. Not comparable with decibels in air. [11] |
| Calf at birth | about 4 m | About 1,000 kg, after 14–16 months of pregnancy. [1][6] |
| Lifespan | up to 60 years | Females have a calf only every 5–7 years. [1] |
| World population | about 736,000 | Global estimate for 1993, after two big whaling eras. [26] |

### Photos

- [Mother and calf off Mauritius. The small fish on the calf are remoras.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mother_and_baby_sperm_whale.jpg) (photo: Gabriel Barathieu, CC BY-SA 2.0)
- [A family group off Mauritius](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sperm_whale_pod_recolored.jpg) (photo: Gabriel Barathieu, CC BY-SA 2.0)
- [Flukes up for a deep dive off Kaikōura, New Zealand, a male feeding area](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Destination_Kaikoura-513966-sperm-whale-diving.jpg) (photo: Whale Watch Kaikoura / Destination Kaikōura, CC BY 4.0)
- [Resting at the surface off Kaikoura](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:6(18)_Sperm_whale.JPG) (photo: Marion & Christoph Aistleitner, CC0)
- [The blow angles forward from the blowhole at the front of the head](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sperm_whale_blowing.jpg) (photo: Commander John Bortniak, NOAA Corps, Public domain)
- [Two sperm whales off São Miguel, Azores](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Two_sperm_whales_(Physeter_macrocephalus)%2C_S%C3%A3o_Miguel_Island%2C_Azores%2C_Portugal_(PPL1-Corrected).jpg) (photo: Jules Verne Times Two, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Whale watching in the Azores: licensed boats keep their distance](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sperm_whale_(Physeter_macrocephalus)_near_a_whale_watching_boat%2C_S%C3%A3o_Miguel_Island%2C_Azores%2C_Portugal_(PPL1-Corrected).jpg) (photo: Jules Verne Times Two, CC BY-SA 4.0)

### Questions

- **How big is a sperm whale?** Adult males grow to about 16 m and 41 t; females to about 11–12 m and 14 t. Newborn calves are about 4 m long. [1]
- **Why is it called a sperm whale?** It is named after spermaceti, the waxy oil in its huge head. Spermaceti has nothing to do with sperm: it helps the whale focus its clicks. [1]
- **How deep can a sperm whale dive?** Typical hunting dives last 30–45 minutes and reach 400–1,200 m. Tags have recorded occasional dives to about 1,500 m. Bigger figures are often quoted, but the tag studies we checked did not record them. [17][7][18]
- **How loud is a sperm whale?** Its clicks reach up to 236 dB re 1 µPa when measured head-on. That is an underwater scale, so it can't be compared directly with sound levels in air. [11]
- **Do sperm whales sleep?** They rest drifting upright just under the surface, head up or head down, and scientists think this is how they sleep. They release bubbles while resting, which may help them stay balanced. [19]
- **Are sperm whales dangerous to people?** Not when watched responsibly. Go with a licensed tour that follows local rules, keep your distance, and never approach, touch or swim towards whales. Rules and distances vary from place to place. [24]
- **Is the sperm whale endangered?** It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. The main threats today are ship strikes, fishing gear, ocean noise and marine debris. [28][1]
- **What is ambergris?** A waxy lump that forms at the end of a sperm whale's gut, around hard squid beaks, and is passed out into the sea. The biggest piece on record weighed 455 kg. [8]

### Sperm whale myths and facts

Some famous sperm whale “facts” are true, some are old ideas and some are still waiting for proof.

- "Sperm whales stun their prey with super-loud clicks." **Myth!** An old idea, but tags tell a different story. When closing in, sperm whales make their clicks faster and 10–100 times quieter, far too weak to stun anything. They chase their prey instead. [25]
- "Sperm whales have the biggest brain of any animal." **Fact!** At almost 8 kg, it is the heaviest brain of any living animal. A 2014 study found that big male killer whales can match it, so the two share the record. [4][5]
- "Spermaceti is whale sperm." **Myth!** Despite the name, spermaceti is an oily wax in the head that helps focus sound. It has nothing to do with making babies. Whalers used it for candles and lamp oil. [1]
- "Sperm whales rest hanging upright in the water." **Fact!** They drift vertically just under the surface, head up or head down. Scientists think this is how they sleep. [19]
- "Ambergris is whale vomit." **Myth!** Sperm whales do bring up hard squid beaks, but ambergris is different. It forms slowly at the end of the gut, around squid beaks, and leaves the other end. Fresh ambergris smells like poo. [8]
- "A sperm whale once sank a whaling ship." **Fact!** In 1820 a sperm whale rammed and sank the whaleship Essex in the Pacific. The story helped inspire Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick (1851). Watched responsibly, sperm whales are no danger to people. [23][24]
- "Sperm whales dive 3 km deep and stay down for 2 hours." **Not proven!** You will often read this, but the tag studies we checked tell a calmer story: typical dives of 30–45 min to 400–1,200 m, the deepest about 1,500 m and the longest about 65 min. [6][17][10][18]
- "Scientists have decoded a sperm whale alphabet." **Not proven!** A 2024 study showed that codas are built from smaller features that combine in many ways, and news reports called it a “phonetic alphabet”. It is an exciting proposal, but nobody knows yet what the codas mean. [15][16]

### Sperm whale records

Superlatives backed by measurements.

- Heaviest brain: Sperm whale (shared with big male killer whales), almost 8 kg (The heaviest brain of any living animal.) [4][5]
- Largest toothed predator: Adult male sperm whale, about 16 m (The largest of all toothed whales, at about 41 t.) [1]
- Largest nose: Sperm whale, 1/3 of the body (The head, mostly nose, is about a third of the whale's length.) [2][1]
- Loudest click measured: Sperm whale, 236 dB re 1 µPa (Recorded head-on. An underwater measure that can't be compared directly with air.) [11]
- Longest pregnancy among whales: Sperm whale (and killer whale), 14–16 months (Then the mother nurses her calf for several years.) [5][1]
- Largest lump of ambergris: A sperm whale, 455 kg (The biggest find in a 2006 review; it sold in 1914 for £23,000.) [8]

### A day of diving with a sperm whale

A sperm whale's day is a loop: dive, click, hunt, breathe, repeat.

- **0 min**: Down it goes. After breathing at the surface, the whale tips its head down and dives. [7]
- **First minutes**: Clicking starts. On the way down it starts regular clicks, one every 0.5–2 s, scanning far ahead. [12][7]
- **About 400 m down**: First creak. On average it has descended 392 m from its first click when it makes its first creak to close in on prey. [7]
- **Bottom of the dive**: Hunting time. 99.8% of creaks happen in the deepest half of the dive. A typical dive has about 18. [12][7]
- **About 45 min**: Back up. A typical dive lasts about 45 min. Average deepest points were 644–985 m in three ocean regions. [7]
- **Next 9 min**: Breathing break. It breathes at the surface for about 9 min, then dives again. [7][1]
- **All day and night**: Repeat. Sperm whales spend more than 72% of their time in these dive cycles. [7]
- **Day vs night**: Changing depths. Off the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, whales dived deeper by day (853 m on average) than at night (469 m). [27]
- **Rest time**: Upright rest. Between hunts, whales may hang upright just under the surface, resting and probably asleep. [19]

### Sperm whale families and clans

Female sperm whales live in close families for life, and families belong to clans with their own click dialects.

- **about 12** females in a family unit. Related females and their young travel, hunt and rest together for years. [1][13]
- **5–7 years** between calves. Each calf is precious, so the family helps. While mothers dive, other adults stay with the calf at the surface. [1][9]
- **7 clans** found in the Pacific. A clan is a group of families sharing a coda dialect. A 2022 study sorted 23,429 codas from 23 Pacific sites into seven clans. [14]
- **1,000s of km** across one clan's range. Clans live side by side over thousands of kilometres but keep their own dialects. Scientists think the dialects are learned, a kind of culture. [13]
- **4–21 years** age young males leave home. Young males join “bachelor pods” of similar age. Adult males travel far into cooler waters. [1]

Babysitting was shown by following known families for years off Dominica in the Caribbean.

### Saving the sperm whale

Sperm whales were hunted for their oil for almost two centuries. Whaling has stopped, but recovery is slow and new threats have arrived.

- **IUCN Red List:** Vulnerable (VU) (Trend unknown). Vulnerable worldwide. In the US the sperm whale is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. [28][1]
- IUCN Red List (category checked via Wikidata, October 2026)
- **Threat: Ship strikes**: Sperm whales often lie at the surface, typically for up to 10 minutes between dives, in the path of ships. Few strikes are documented, but shipping is increasing. [1]
- **Threat: Fishing gear**: Whales can get tangled in lines, pots and gillnets. Some learn to take fish from fishing lines, which raises the risk. [1]
- **Threat: Ocean noise**: Noise from human activities can drown out their clicks and drive them away from important areas. [1]
- **Threat: Plastic and debris**: Debris in their deep feeding layer can be mistaken for food. In the Mediterranean, one sperm whale died after swallowing large amounts of plastic. [1][29]
- **Threat: Slow recovery**: Whaling peaked in the 1840s and the 1960s. It disrupted families and removed big males, and populations are still recovering slowly. [26]
- **Helping: Whaling stopped** (1987): Commercial whaling of sperm whales lasted from 1800 until 1987. [1]
- **Helping: Protection at sea**: Protecting habitat, reducing bycatch, freeing tangled whales and cutting ship strikes. [1]
- **Helping: Respectful watching**: Watch from licensed tour boats that follow local rules. Keep your distance and never approach, touch or swim towards whales: rules and distances vary by country. [24]
- **Helping: Listening research**: Long-term studies of known families and underwater recorders show where sperm whales live and how their culture works. [9][20][16]

### Sperm whale vs blue whale vs orca

Three ocean giants: the biggest toothed whale, the biggest animal and the biggest dolphin.

| | Sperm whale | Blue whale | Orca (killer whale) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claim to fame [1][30][31] | Largest toothed whale | Largest animal on Earth | Largest member of the dolphin family |
| Maximum length [1][30][31] | about 16 m (males) | about 33.5 m | about 9.8 m |
| Maximum weight [1][30][31] | about 41 t (males) | about 150 t | about 10 t |
| Lifespan [1][30][31] | up to 60 years | about 80–90 years | 30–90 years |
| Brain [4][5] | almost 8 kg, the heaviest | not compared here | big males match the sperm whale |
| Main threats [1][30][31] | Ship strikes, fishing gear, noise, debris | Fishing gear, noise, ship strikes | Pollution, boat noise, fishing gear, food shortages, oil spills |
| IUCN status [28][32] | Vulnerable | Endangered | Data Deficient |

US tons and feet from NOAA converted to tonnes and metres. Orca threats and status differ a lot between populations.

### Sperm whale signals

- Lying still at the surface: Breathing and resting between dives, typically for up to 10 minutes. [1]
- Hanging upright under the surface: Resting, probably asleep. Boats should keep well clear. [19][24]
- Slow, regular clicks: Searching: sonar clicks every 0.5–2 s scan the dark water ahead. [12]
- A fast buzz of clicks (a creak): Closing in on prey. [12][25]
- Short click patterns (codas): Socialising: family members swap codas in their clan's dialect. [13][14]

### Looks

- **Adult female**: Dark grey, wrinkly skin. About 11–12 m long and about 14 t, with a smaller head than a big male's. (Spends her life in a family unit in warm waters · mature at about 9 years) [1]
- **Adult male**: Much bigger: up to about 16 m and 41 t, with an even larger, squarer head. Males keep growing into their 30s. (Leaves the family as a youngster and roams into cooler waters · Kaikōura, New Zealand, is a well-studied male feeding area) [1][21]
- **Mother and calf**: A calf is about 4 m long and about 1,000 kg at birth, and swims close beside its mother. (Born after 14–16 months · drinks milk for several years · babysat by the family while its mother dives) [1][6][9]
- **White sperm whale**: Very rare. A fully white sperm whale was filmed near Jamaica in 2021. It may be albino or leucistic: from a distance, nobody can tell. (A leading sperm whale scientist says he has never seen a fully white one · Moby-Dick (1851) made the white whale famous) [22][23]

### Sperm whale quiz

1. How long can an adult male sperm whale grow? **About 16 m.** Males reach about 16 m; females about 11–12 m. [1]
2. Where are a sperm whale's working teeth? **In the lower jaw.** It has 20–26 big teeth on each side of the lower jaw. Upper teeth rarely break through the gums. [1]
3. What does the spermaceti organ mainly help with? **Focusing sound.** It is a giant sac of oil in the head that helps focus the whale's clicks. [1][2]
4. How heavy is a sperm whale's brain? **Almost 8 kg.** Almost 8 kg: the heaviest brain of any living animal, shared with big male killer whales. [4][5]
5. What is a “creak”? **A fast buzz of clicks used to close in on prey.** Creaks are rapid click buzzes made when a whale homes in on prey. [12]
6. Do sperm whales stun their prey with loud clicks? **No: they chase prey and make their clicks quieter.** Tag studies show clicks become 10–100 times quieter when closing in, far too weak to stun. [25]
7. How long does a typical hunting dive last? **About 45 min.** About 45 min, followed by about 9 min at the surface. [7]
8. What are codas? **Short click patterns used to communicate.** Codas are rhythmic patterns of clicks, and each clan has its own dialect. [13]
9. How do sperm whales rest? **Hanging upright near the surface.** They drift vertically just under the surface, head up or head down. [19]
10. Who looks after a calf while its mother dives? **Other members of its family.** Other members of the family unit stay with the calf at the surface, like babysitters. [9]
11. Where does ambergris form? **At the end of the gut, around squid beaks.** It forms in the rectum around hard squid beaks and leaves the other end. [8]
12. What is the sperm whale's IUCN Red List status? **Vulnerable.** It is listed as Vulnerable. [28]

### Sources (checked 2026-10-16)

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6. [Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Sperm whale: species guide.](https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/sperm-whale/)
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16. [Andreas J, Beguš G, Bronstein MM, et al. (2022). Toward understanding the communication in sperm whales. iScience 25:104393.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104393)
17. [Amano M, Yoshioka M (2003). Sperm whale diving behavior monitored using a suction-cup-attached TDR tag. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 258:291–295.](https://doi.org/10.3354/meps258291)
18. [Irvine L, Palacios DM, Urbán J, Mate B (2017). Sperm whale dive behavior characteristics derived from intermediate-duration archival tag data. Ecol Evol 7:7822–7837.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3322)
19. [Freymond N, Burslem A, Miller PJO (2026). Buoyancy regulation through modulation of onboard gas volume by resting sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). J Exp Biol.](https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.251920)
20. [Miller BS, Miller EJ (2018). The seasonal occupancy and diel behaviour of Antarctic sperm whales revealed by acoustic monitoring. Sci Rep 8:5429.](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23752-1)
21. [Jaquet N, Dawson S, Slooten E (2000). Seasonal distribution and diving behaviour of male sperm whales off Kaikoura: foraging implications. Can J Zool 78:407–419.](https://doi.org/10.1139/z99-208)
22. [Hoare P (2021). Mythic white sperm whale captured on film near Jamaica. The Guardian, 30 November 2021.](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/30/white-sperm-whale-rarest-animals-captured-on-film-jamaica)
23. [Wikipedia. Sperm whale (history of whaling: the Essex and Moby-Dick).](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale)
24. [NOAA Fisheries. Marine life viewing guidelines.](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/marine-life-viewing-guidelines)
25. [Fais A, Johnson M, Wilson M, Aguilar Soto N, Madsen PT (2016). Sperm whale predator-prey interactions involve chasing and buzzing, but no acoustic stunning. Sci Rep 6:28562.](https://doi.org/10.1038/srep28562)
26. [Whitehead H, Shin M (2022). Current global population size, post-whaling trend and historical trajectory of sperm whales. Sci Rep 12:19468.](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24107-7)
27. [Aoki K, Amano M, Yoshioka M, et al. (2007). Diel diving behavior of sperm whales off Japan. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 349:277–287.](https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07068)
28. [IUCN Red List: Physeter macrocephalus (Vulnerable; category confirmed via Wikidata P141, IUCN taxon 41755).](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41755/160983555)
29. [de Stephanis R, Giménez J, Carpinelli E, Gutierrez-Exposito C, Cañadas A (2013). As main meal for sperm whales: plastics debris. Mar Pollut Bull 69:206–214.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.01.033)
30. [NOAA Fisheries. Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus): species directory.](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-whale)
31. [NOAA Fisheries. Killer whale (Orcinus orca): species directory.](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale)
32. [Wikidata. IUCN conservation status (P141) of blue whale (Q42196) and killer whale (Q26843).](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42196)

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 1100-1600 cm
- **Weight:** 14000-41000 kg
- **Lifespan:** up to 60 years
- **Litter Size:** 1
- **Gestation:** 425-487 days

## Diet & Feeding

These giant hunters mostly eat big squid and fish found in the deep, dark parts of the ocean.

- **Primary Foods:** Giant Squid, Colossal Squid, Deep-sea Fish, Octopuses
- **Foraging Method:** Pursuit

## Ecological connections

- **Hunts:** [Giant Squid](https://www.snappit.app/explore/giant-squid) (*Architeuthis dux*) — Giant squid are among the deep-sea squid that sperm whales eat.
- **Hunts:** Colossal Squid (*Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni*) — Sperm whales may also hunt colossal squid in the deep sea.
- **Eaten by:** Killer Whale (*Orcinus orca*) — Orcas sometimes prey on Sperm Whale calves or vulnerable adults.

## Traits

- [Social](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/social): Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.
- [Piscivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/piscivorous): Piscivorous organisms are animals that primarily subsist on a diet of fish.
- [Ancient Lineage](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/ancient-lineage): This trait signifies organisms belonging to a very old evolutionary group with ancestors dating back millions of years.
- [Echolocation](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/echolocation): Echolocation is a biological sonar used by animals to navigate, hunt, and communicate by emitting sound waves and interpreting the echoes.
- [Longevous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/longevous): This trait characterizes organisms with an exceptionally long lifespan compared to others of their kind.
- [Aquatic](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/aquatic): Aquatic habitats encompass environments where organisms live predominantly in water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
- [Giant](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/giant): Giant describes organisms or objects of significantly larger size than average for their species or type.
- [Marine](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/marine): Marine habitats encompass all saltwater environments of the Earth's oceans, supporting an immense diversity of aquatic life.

## Collections

- [Mammals](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/mammals)

## Safety

**Danger:** 2/5 · Low

Sperm whales are not dangerous when watched responsibly. Go with a licensed tour that follows local rules, keep your distance, and never approach, touch or swim towards whales.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Sperm Whale?

Compare ears, muzzle, tail, feet and coat markings. Size is hard to judge without something nearby for scale, and young mammals may not have adult coloring yet. Mammal Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Sperm Whale?

1100-1600 cm

### How much does Sperm Whale weigh?

14000-41000 kg

### How long does Sperm Whale live?

up to 60 years

### What does Sperm Whale eat?

These giant hunters mostly eat big squid and fish found in the deep, dark parts of the ocean.

### Where is Sperm Whale usually found?

Deep ocean waters

### How does Sperm Whale hunt?

Pursuit

### How many babies does Sperm Whale usually have?

1

## More Mammals

- [Eastern Fox Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-fox-squirrel) (*Sciurus niger*)
- [Eastern Cottontail](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-cottontail) (*Sylvilagus floridanus*)
- [Eastern Chipmunk](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-chipmunk) (*Tamias striatus*)
- [California Ground Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/california-ground-squirrel) (*Otospermophilus beecheyi*)

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Source: [Sperm Whale: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/sperm-whale)