Whale Facts for Kids: Baleen, Blowholes & Ocean Giants

Whales are ocean-going mammals, which means they breathe air, are warm-blooded and feed milk to their young. The whale world includes enormous filter-feeders and toothed hunters that use sound in very different ways.

These whale facts for kids explain the main whale groups without treating every species as if it behaved the same way.

Explore more in our Animal Fun Facts hub and ocean pages such as Dolphin Facts for Kids.

Quick Whale Facts for Kids

1. Whales are mammals in the order Cetacea. They share this group with dolphins and porpoises.
2. Whales breathe air through blowholes. They must surface to breathe because they have lungs, not gills.
3. Baleen whales usually have two blowholes. Toothed whales have a single blowhole.
4. Baleen whales have baleen plates instead of teeth. The plates act like filters for small prey such as krill and schooling fish.
5. Toothed whales have teeth. Many use echolocation to navigate and find prey.
6. The blue whale is the largest animal known to have lived on Earth. It can grow longer than a city bus and weigh well over 100 tons.
7. Whales move their tail flukes up and down. Fish generally move their tails side to side.
8. A thick layer of blubber stores energy and helps reduce heat loss. The thickness varies among species.
9. Whales live in oceans around the world. Different species favor polar, temperate or tropical habitats.

Checked against: NOAA Fisheries — Whales and Smithsonian Ocean — Whales.

Whale Sound, Feeding and Migration Facts

10. Whales use sound for communication. Calls can help individuals stay in contact across dark or murky water.
11. Humpback whales are famous for complex songs. Males produce long, patterned vocal displays during breeding seasons.
12. Many whale species migrate. Some travel between high-latitude feeding areas and warmer breeding areas.
13. Migration patterns are not identical for every species or population. Some whales stay in productive regions year-round.
14. Blue whales feed mainly on krill. Their enormous bodies are supported by consuming huge amounts of tiny prey.
15. Humpback whales can use bubble nets while feeding. Groups release bubbles that help concentrate schooling fish or krill.
16. Sperm whales are deep-diving toothed whales. They hunt squid and other prey far below the surface.
17. Whale calves drink milk from their mothers. Mothers provide both nutrition and protection during early life.
18. Some individual whales can be recognized by natural markings. Researchers use fluke shapes, scars and pigmentation in photo-identification studies.
19. When a whale dies and sinks, its body can feed deep-sea life. A “whale fall” may support scavengers and specialized communities for years.

Are Orcas Whales or Dolphins?

Orcas are often called killer whales, but biologically they are the largest members of the oceanic dolphin family. That is why our Dolphin Facts for Kids page treats them as part of the dolphin family.

How We Check Whale Facts

InsightScribe uses NOAA Fisheries and Smithsonian Ocean as primary references. We label examples by species so a humpback behavior, blue-whale diet or sperm-whale diving fact is not incorrectly applied to every whale.

Continue with Sea Turtle Facts for Kids, Shark Facts for Kids, or return to Animal Fun Facts.