01Orca Whales - False Whales

An orca is a marine mammal, they are actually dolphins. In fact, they are the largest member of the dolphin family! Dolphins and whales are closely related – both are in the order Cetacea, which includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

Orcas were given the name "killer whale" by ancient sailors' observations of groups of orcas hunting and preying on larger whale species.

They called orcasasesina ballenas, or "whale killer" – a term that was eventually flipped around to the easier "killer whale".

02Beluga Whales Love Music

From one point of view, we can never know if beluga whales really love music. However, they do respond and express great curiosity and even sometimes join in synchronized dance.

In 2013, a pair of artists rigged a boat with an underwater sound system and sailed out to sea in order to play the belugas an underwater symphony.

The whales were extremely interested and even joined in, showing an appreciation for music and art above and beyond most known creatures on Earth.

03Whales Imitate Speech

Whales can make a variety of sounds. One whale in captivity, a whale called NOC, became so good at mimicking human voices that researches thought they were overhearing two people conversing in the distance.

This went on for a while until the whale convinced a diver in his tank that someone was shouting at him to surface.

NOC produced these sounds by unnaturally varying the pressure in his nasal tract and inflating a sac in his blowhole.