PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS

  Up to 18,5 metres

Up to 55 tons

  Giant squid, octopi, various fish

Up to 70 years (estimated)

They can dive up to 3.000 metres deep while staying submerged for about 60 minutes. In difference to all other whale species, their blow points forward and at a 45° angle to the left. (All other whales' blows are straight up.)

THE STORY OF THE SPERM WHALE IN SKJÁLFANDI BAY

Good morning my dear followers. I am impressed, you are patient. And persistent I suppose. Forty-five minutes since we met last a mile further south – before I went to dive.

May I introduce my friends and myself? We are a bachelor group of SPERM WHALES. We migrated north foraging for food. Not too many delicacies in Skjálfandi Bay, though. Couldn’t find any squid or such. I suppose we will venture further out again where the water seemed to be deeper – after all, we normally submerge 600-3.000 metres deep.

I can see you’re thoroughly inspecting my body. You wonder about all these scars? Every of my scars tells a tale of a battle with a giant squid – really my favourite dish. Though I must say the fish here in the Icelandic waters isn’t bad neither.
Or is it the wrinkles behind my head? Actually, did you notice how large my head is? It´s accounting for about one third of my total body length and I can grow up to 18 metres long! What makes me really unique: I have a single blowhole asymmetrically situated on the left side of the crown of my head. Last, don’t I stand out among all the other whales here with my brownish-grey colouration?

While we males migrate north all the way up to Svalbard, our females and calves will stay behind in warmer waters close to the equator. Females tend to form long lasting bonds with other females of their families. It’s not unusual to see on average about 12 females and their young ones forming such a social unit for a lifetime (which can be 60-70 years). Young males end up leaving these units to form bachelor schools and – here we are: three of us living our best lives! Matured males, once they’re in their late 20s or older, will leave their bachelor schools to live solitary lives and migrate back south occasionally to mate. The three of us, we are still young, only just 18, and not into this stuff, yet.

Before I leave you wait again, do you want some fun facts to think about meanwhile?

We are the largest of all toothed whales as well as the largest toothed predator. Also, we have the largest brain on Earth, which is more than five times heavier than yours! Last but not least, I am loud: At a 230 decibel I can produce some of the loudest sounds on Earth. You know how loud that is? For reference, a jet engine produces about 150 decibels during take-off. My language is a serial of clicks, which are amplified by a fatty, wax-filled organ called the spermaceti organ that is located on top of my skull. Oh, come on, what did you think my name derives from?

Anyway, enough of this, see you in forty-five!

Sperm whales occasionally venture into coastal waters such as Skjálfandi Bay. In rare occasions, they can be seen on whale watching tours from Husavik, Iceland:

GG1 Whale Watching

GG2 Big Whale Safari & Puffins