Whales can be found in all oceans and seas in parts of the world, rivers and lakes in Southeast Asia, South American tropics, Northern America and various other parts of the world. Whales are enormous in size compared to other mammals but at the same time, it is also one of the biggest animals living today. There are over seventy- five different species of whales and each species has its own unique characteristics. Now today, I would like to start the presentation off by talking about the different groups of whales and the different species within the groups. Since there are so many different types of whales, I would like to talk about the whales that I believed to be very important.

The humpback whale is one of the rorquals, a family that includes the blue whale, fin whale, sei whale and the minke whale. The shape and color pattern on the humpback's dorsal fin and fluke tail are different for each whale so it is similar to fingerprints of human. Because of this, new form of research known as photo- identification was made. Each whale is identified, catalogued and monitored so this gives researchers valuable information about humpback whale population, migration, sexual maturity and behavior patterns. Adult humpback measure 40 to 48 feet in length and weigh about 30 tons. Humpback whales are found in all the world's oceans. Most populations of humpback follow a migration routine, summering in temperate and polar waters for feeding and wintering in tropical waters for mating. Because their mating, feeding and calving grounds are close to shore, they were the target for early hunters. But in 1966, the IWC- International Whaling Committee gave them worldwide protection. At present, there are about 15,000 humpback whales living, which is around 15% of the original population.

Gray whales are "coastal" whales that migrate along the North American Pacific coast between arctic seas and the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. Frequently visible from shore, gray whales provide a unique opportunity for land and boat observation, and commercial whale watching has become a major industry along its migration route. Gray whales are known to be friendly and closely approaches small boats so that it can be touched by humans. The gray whale receives its name from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Adult gray whales measure 45 feet and weigh about 40 tons. Killer whales are a cause of many gray whale deaths and many gray whales have killer whale teeth scars on their body. At one time, there were three gray whale populations. A north Atlantic population now extinct, possibly the victims of over- hunting. Eastern north pacific population which is the largest surviving population. And North Pacific gray whale population which has made a remarkable recovery and there are about 19000 of them today. Total population of gray whales today is around 25,000.

The bowhead whale is also known the Greenland right whale and is similar

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Approximate Word count = 1527
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)