Unit9-Listening-Listening
Whales are mammals that live their entire lives in the water. Some whales are huge. The blue whale, for example, grows to 30 meters in length and over 200 tons in weight. It is the largest animal that has ever lived on earth. Whales may also be the most intelligent animals in the ocean.
Whales like to feed in the cold oceans where there is a lot of krill - their favorite food. Cold waters in the North and South Atlantic Ocean and the North and South Pacific Ocean are good feeding grounds for whales. Some whales are known to migrate into warm waters to bear their calves.
Whale population decreases quickly due to heavy hunting pressure. Conservation groups have asked the International Whaling Commission to stop most whaling. However, Native American hunters, such as the Eskimos, are still allowed to hunt a limited number of whales to feed their communities. If no effective measures were taken to protect whales, these wonderful animals would disappear forever.