With each breath, whales replace up to 90% of the air contained in their lungs (compared to 10-15% for humans). If you get up close to a whale, don’t worry about what’s coming out of the blowhole.Įnjoy the spectacle, and maybe keep your mouth closed.A blue whale can breath in just 1 to 2 seconds. The whale’s not going to give you a cold, and you won’t be coated in boogers (just a light misting). Next to that, a little whale air isn’t so bad. It’s a famously expensive perfume ingredient, and some people even eat it. Consider ambergris – which depending on your perspective is either whale vomit or poop. And as far as whales go, it’s not that bad. It may be mostly hot air and mucus, but it’s not really that much like getting sneezed on.
This environment loosens congestion allowing for more boogers and phlegm to fly out. Now consider that the salt water at the top acts almost like the saline solution you might use to clear a stuffy nose. Gross, now’s probably a good time to wash your hands. What comes out? Probably not just hot air. When you need to breathe exhale sharply through your nose, emptying your lungs in a quick blast. Since their respiratory system is so similar to ours you can basically try it out for yourself. Dolphins have been found dead after moving the plug while swallowing large fish. Even those with control over the laryngeal plug are better off leaving it in place. Still, most whales (including dolphins), most of the time, will not attempt to breathe through their mouths. It was a rare instance of intellectuals being impressed by a mouth-breather. This challenged the previous belief that whales are incapable of breathing through their mouths. Film showed that the dolphin never opened its blowhole while surfacing – meaning it had to be breathing through its lungs.
Over the next few years, the same dolphin was witnessed practicing this behaviour by other teams in the area.īy 2015, it was concluded that he was indeed breathing through his mouth. Upon closer inspection, they could hear the breathing sounds coming from its open mouth. However, there is evidence of at least one dolphin breathing through its mouth.Ī team in New Zealand observed a Hector’s dolphin that appeared to be breathing exclusively through its mouth. Although it’s possible that some species can control the plug, it’s easier to breathe out of the blowhole and offers less risk. The water at the top mostly turns into a mist, and some of the mucous lining from the nose comes out as well.īecause of the laryngeal plug, whales are usually thought to not be able to breathe through their mouth. So what comes out actually contains very little water. This prevents water from getting into the trachea. The whale has a nasal plug a little under the opening of the blowhole. When a whale surfaces the first thing it does is expel all the remaining air to breathe in fresh oxygen. This is important since it lets them eat without water entering their lungs and drowning them. They have evolved a laryngeal plug that blocks the contents of the mouth from entering the lungs. Unlike a human, a whale’s nose (blowhole) isn’t directly connected to the mouth. Whale respiratory systems are similar to human ones. The biggest difference is whales only breathe through their nose.
Whales actually have a similar respiratory system to humans with a larynx, pharynx, trachea, and lungs. This means they need to surface to breathe. Most of our interaction with whales happen because they, unlike fish, have lungs instead of gills. So what’s coming out of the blowhole is basically the same as would come out of your own nose. The blowhole is, basically, a whale’s nose. Everyone’s laughing, smiling, and clapping – you all feel blessed by this interaction with nature’s gentle, majestic giant.Ĭongratulations, you’re soaked in whale boogers.
You lean over to take a picture or give it a gentle pat, and it blasts your whole boat with a fountain from its blowhole. Imagine the excitement and exhilaration of a whale surfacing right by your boat. Picture yourself on a whale watching tour.
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