Whales

The massive and awe-inspiring mammals have long played a vital role in the lives of coastal peoples around the world. 

Drawn from the Museum’s rich archives and collections, the resources below include the story of the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life’s beloved blue whale, video about the rarest whales on Earth, and Antarctic explorer Herbert Ponting’s chilling account of being hunted by a pod of killer whales. 

Video The Squid and the Whale: Evidence for an Epic Encounter Paleontologists explain how we know the two giants do encounter one another - though no human has ever witnessed it. Blog Post Andrewsarchus, "Superb Skull of a Gigantic Beast" In 1923, in Inner Mongolia, a young paleontological assistant on a fossil-finding expedition came upon “the superb skull of a gigantic... July 3, 2013 Blog Post The Museum's Blue Whale Model The famed blue-whale model was renovated in 2003. May 17, 2013 Hands-on Rubber Blubber Gloves If you've ever dipped your toes in the ocean, you know the water can be downright chilly. So how do whales and walruses manage to... Blog Post The Most Uncommon Whales? A look at beaked whales, an elusive group that includes nearly a quarter of all living whale species. March 11, 2013 Blog Post Ancient DNA Reveals Arctic Whale Mysteries A team of researchers has published the first range-wide genetic analysis of the bowhead whale—a baleen whale that lives in Arctic... October 24, 2012 Article Great White South by Herbert G. Ponting Ponting is one of the best photographers to have documented Antarctica. He was also a fine travel writer. Read an excerpt from his... Exhibit Sperm Whale and Giant Squid The squid and whale diorama depicts a sperm whale clashing with its prey, a giant squid. Blog Post Watch Time-Lapse Video of Blue Whale Cleaning at the Museum In this time lapse video, the Museum’s 94-foot-long blue whale gets a good scrub. September 9, 2011

Support for the development of Science Topics was generously provided by Sidney and Helaine Lerner, GRACE Communications Foundation.