Whales are not fish.

They are animals that breathe air like we do.

A humpback whale and her calf. Getty

A humpback whale and her calf. Getty

Baby whales drink milk from their mothers.

A baby whale is called a calf.

Whales live all the time in deep sea.

They can hold their breath for a very long time.

An orca whale jumping. ©Getty

An orca whale jumping. ©Getty

They come up to get air then dive deep again.

Sometimes they jump.

There are lots of different kinds of whale.

Bottlenose dolphins. Getty Images

Bottlenose dolphins. Getty Images

 

Some whales are small.

Dolphins are small whales.

 

Blue whale. Getty Images

Blue whale. Getty Images

Some whales are huge.

The blue whale is even bigger than the biggest dinosaur.

Orca whale. Getty Images

Orca whale. Getty Images

Some whales have teeth.

Some whales have baleen instead of teeth.

Baleen is like a fringe or brush inside a baleen whale's mouth. Getty Images

Baleen is like a fringe or brush inside a baleen whale's mouth. Getty Images

 

Baleen is like a big strainer that pushes out water but keeps food in the whale's mouth.

 


Words

dolphin (say - doll-fin)

  • A small, playful whale.

baleen (say - buh-leen or bay-leen)

  • Stiff hairs inside the mouth of some whales to act like a strainer.

Animal Allsorts, an animal alphabet:

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