Sperm Whale

Physeter macrocephalus · Mammal

The sperm whale hunts squid in deep water of every ocean, diving for an hour or more, and lives in groups of females and young while grown males roam alone into colder seas. Angry bulls were a real threat to whalers in small boats, and one sank the whaleship Essex. Whalers took it for spermaceti, oil, teeth and the ambergris prized by perfumers.

Danger

Can wound or kill

How it is met

In families, day and night

Size

Huge

In winter

Active in winter

Hear it

• Whale Call Low Pitch1 (On Patreon, Free tier)

Where it lives

Open Ocean, Deep Sea

Gives

Sperm Whale Spermaceti, Sperm Whale Blubber, Sperm Whale Tooth, Sunken Ambergris

Sources

• Liz Ballenger, Physeter catodon (sperm whale). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, 2003.
• Wikipedia contributors, Sperm whale. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2026.

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