A humpback whale just a few meters below the ocean surface.Image: Shutterstock
A humpback whale is stuck in the Baltic Sea. This draws attention to the giants of the seas. Questions and answers about life expectancy, food, death, etc.
March 30, 2026, 5:35 p.mMarch 30, 2026, 5:35 p.m
Helen Albrecht / t-online
For several days now, people all over Germany have been worried about a lost whale in the Baltic Sea. The humpback whale first got stranded on a sandbank off Timmendorf Beach, then freed itself and is now stuck again, this time in Wismar Bay. The unusual event raises questions about the sea giants: Where do whales actually live, how old can they get and what happens to the bodies of dead animals? Here you will find the most important facts about whales.
1. How old do whales get?
Determining the age of whales is often difficult. After all, in most cases their birth is not recorded. Some whale species in the cold Arctic waters also live longer than humans: bowhead whales, for example, can live to be over 200 years old. Scientists have not yet found a reliable way to accurately determine the age of this species.
Bowhead whales can live over 200 years.Image: Shutterstock
According to the organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), bowhead whales have been found in recent years with spear and harpoon tips from the early 19th century stuck in their bodies. However, not all whale species live that old. For example, the life expectancy of a blue whale is 90 years, while other species live around 70 years on average.
According to experts, a whale’s life expectancy may also be related to how much human activity – such as fishing – takes place in its habitat.
In addition, a study suggests that the age of large whales has so far been significantly underestimated. Southern right whales, a species of whale from the right whale family, can live up to 130 years, as analyzes have shown.
2. Which is the largest whale in the world?
The blue whale is the largest whale and also the largest animal on earth. On average, it is 26 meters long and weighs around 180 tons. However, isolated animals also reach lengths of up to 30 meters. The largest blue whale scientifically measured to date was 33.6 meters long.
An average blue whale weighs 180 tons.Image: Shutterstock
The heart of a blue whale alone weighs between 600 and 1,000 kilos, its carotid artery has a diameter of 20 centimeters – so large that a baby could easily crawl through it – and an entire football team could fit on its tongue, which weighs around two tons. But not all whales and dolphins are such giants: their smallest counterparts, the porpoises, only weigh around 50 kilos.
3. Where do whales live?
Whales are widespread. Many species prefer the cold of Arctic waters. Some migrate towards the equator or Antarctica in the summer months to feed and mate. Dozens of species live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. There are even whales in the Mediterranean, such as the harbor porpoise, and also some species of dolphins.
This is where whales swim to eat and mate.
There was even a whale in the Rhine – a beluga whale named Moby Dick – in 1968. However, he accidentally got into the river: While being transported to an English zoo, the ship capsized and Moby Dick was washed into the North Sea. It reached the Rhine via the port of Rotterdam.
Although it is not suitable as a territory for large whales, these animals also occasionally stray into the Baltic Sea, as the current case shows.
4. What do whales eat?
The preferred diet differs from species to species. The killer whale, the largest predator in the world, feeds on other marine mammals such as smaller whales and dolphins, seals, penguins and seabirds. In a group, he can even kill prey that is larger than himself. Some brave killer whales take on sharks, for example.
The killer whale is the largest predator in the world.Image: imgur
The giant blue whale, on the other hand, prefers comparatively tiny food: the sea giants mainly eat krill, shrimp-like crabs that are about five centimeters in size. Herrings are at the top of the humpback whale’s menu. In general, baleen whales such as the humpback whale also like vegetarian food such as plankton, while the group of toothed whales (e.g. sperm whales and narwhals) prefer fish.
5. Are there actually unicorn whales?
The legend of the horned whale has existed for centuries. In fact, some male narwhals have a spike up to three meters long protruding from their heads. Because this tip is twisted, it looks like a unicorn.
Strictly speaking, the horn is one of the narwhal’s two teeth. In many male animals, a tooth continues to grow and protrudes from the head like a horn. This tooth contains millions of nerve endings, so scientists believe that the horn serves as a kind of sensor for the whale.
6. What happens to dead whales?
When whales die in the open sea, they usually sink to the seabed, where they are broken down by numerous marine organisms over the years, thus providing a valuable ecosystem. This is also known as a “whale fall”.
The aerial photo from a helicopter shows a black whale lying in the sand on the small, uninhabited Wadden Sea island southeast of the island of Wangerooge. Image: keystone
However, stranded whales that die often have to be disposed of, for example if they are in a tourist area. They are then either dismantled, buried, taken to rendering facilities or towed back to sea. Burial at sea is considered ideal from an ecological perspective because it supports the natural nutrient chain. However, there are many factors to consider, otherwise the carcass can wash back onto the shore.
7. Can dead whales explode?
There are rumors that a whale explodes when it is dead. In fact, whale explosions are possible. Putrefactive gases form in the bodies of stranded dead whales, causing the carcass to swell before escaping explosively, taking blood and innards with it.
However, there are also whale explosions that are caused by humans in order to dispose of the decomposing bodies weighing tons. For example, in 1970, a dead sperm whale was blown up using dynamite in Florence, Oregon. Although this method turned out to be ineffective, it is still used in some cases today.
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