The Whales are a diverse group of marine mammals, ranging in size from the 2.6 m dwarf sperm whale to the largest living mammal on Earth, the blue whale (30 m). The diet of whales is varied, this humpback and the blue are baleen whales, filter feeders. The smaller species, like the sperm whales, are toothed whales, and hunt their prey, singling out individuals for pursuit. Baleen whales favour a more indirect technique, either swimming forward, mouth agape, or gulping in great mouthfuls, filtering out the edible contents and expelling the water. Many whale species are threatened with extinction; they are long-lived, slow to mature and rarely bear more than one calf every few years. Some species have been actively hunted to the brink of extinction, and all suffer from deep-sea trawling and other human interference.
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