Search results
2 hours
- In a nutshell, whales can decide/control when they want to take a breath and hold it for almost 2 hours underwater without any harmful consequences!
www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/how-can-whales-and-dolphins-hold-their-breath-for-so-long-underwater.htmlHow Can Whales & Dolphins Hold Breath For So Long Underwater?
People also ask
How long do whales stay underwater?
How can whales hold their breath for so long?
How long can a whale dive?
How long do sperm whales hold their breath?
How long do blue whales hold their breath?
How long does a Cuvier's beaked whale hold its breath?
A sperm whale can spend around 90 minutes hunting underwater before it has to surface to breathe. The longest ever recorded dive by a whale was made by a Cuvier's beaked whale. It lasted 137 minutes and broke the record for diving mammals.
- How Can Whales Hold Their Breath for so Long
How can whales hold their breath for so long? Rather than...
- Secrets of the deepest diving whales
One individual made two extremely long dives of 173 minutes...
- How Can Whales Hold Their Breath for so Long
Feb 2, 1998 · But equipped with a voluntary respiratory system, whales and dolphins must keep part of the brain alert to trigger each breath. Other methods help marine mammals to hold their breath longer...
- Efficient Respiratory System
- Conservation of Energy
- Myoglobin: A Biological Advantage
There are a few things that play in whales’ favor when it comes to holding their breath for so long. For starters, whales have a very efficient respiratory system, which helps them make the most of a single breath. To put this in perspective, consider this – humans breathe around 12-20 times per minute when resting, but only absorb 5% of the oxygen...
While underwater, whales conserve as much energy as they can by slowing their heart rate and limiting blood supply to only a few select organs, such as the brain, heart and muscles (without affecting their blood pressure) to exploit the full potential of a single breath.
The biggest advantage for whales is myoglobin, a protein present in the muscles of most mammals. Myoglobin’s primary job is to bind to oxygen molecules, or more simply, store excess oxygen. Therefore, when you hold your breath even for a little while, it’s myoglobin that provides oxygen to your body. Since aquatic mammals spend significantly more t...
- 4 min
Oct 20, 2022 · Most whales can hold their breath for several minutes, while others can dive for over an hour at a time. Their lungs aren’t solely responsible for this phenomenon though. Instead, whales store oxygen in their blood that they use when needed.
The duration a whale can hold its breath varies significantly among species. For example, some whales, like the sperm whale, are adept at long-duration dives, staying underwater for up to 90 minutes.
One individual made two extremely long dives of 173 minutes and 222 minutes, which the researchers thought might be reaching the limits of the species' diving capacity. All whales rely on coming to the surface of the water to breathe oxygen - so they must hold their breath for remarkably long periods of time.
How can whales hold their breath for so long? Rather than keeping oxygen in their lungs like humans do, whales' bodies are specially adapted to store oxygen in their blood and muscles. They have extraordinarily high levels of the oxygen-storing proteins haemoglobin and myoglobin.
