Physeter marococephalus

I Heart Whales

I seem to have a thing for whales. Sperm whales are the deepest diving mammal, going as deep as 3 kilometers for up to 90 minutes. They eat giant squid and often are found with scars from their battles.

The Essex

In 1820 the Nantucket whaler the Essex was sunk by a giant sperm whale. While her crew were out hunting other members of the giant whales pod, the unusually aggressive whale struck the Essex twice with its head. This sunk the vessel and doomed most of her crew. The attack was at a time when whaling was expanding across the Atlantic and into the Pacific. The sperm whale population was being decimated. This one wrathful whale was the inspiration for Moby Dick, a story about whalers and blind vengeance. Though the fate of the Essex was far worse than those aboard the Pequod.