How Big is a Sperm Whale – (Size Comparison & More To Know)
How big is a full-grown sperm whale?
The sperm whale is the fourth largest whale on the planet discovered so far. This is included in the list of the largest toothed mammals in the world.
A full-grown mature sperm whale can reach up to a length of about 10 to 18 m or 35 to 60 feet. They can reach a maximum weight of about 90,000 lbs or 40,800 kgs, with males growing much larger than the females.
The average length of a full-grown adult male Sperm Whale is 50 feet or 15.2 m weighing around 70,000 to 90,000 lbs or 31,700 to 40,800 kgs approx.
The average length of a full-grown adult female Sperm Whale is 37 feet or 11.3 m weighing around 28,000 to 32,000 lbs or 12,700 to 14,500 kgs approx.
In comparison to other whales, the sperm whale has a very unique body and is unlikely to be confused with any other species of whale. It has a block-shaped head that can measure up to 1/3 of the whales’ overall size and length.
The sperm whale can live for as long as 60 to 70 years in the wild. They are actually very deep divers, and can be rarely seen on the water surface.
They are mostly seen in the middle of the ocean at the depth of about 350 metres to around 1,000 metres below the water surface.
They can remain at the depth of the ocean for hours long and can only come to the surface of the water to breathe for about 8 to 10 minutes only.
How big a sperm whale really is – (FAQs Answered)
How big is a sperm whale brain?
The sperm whale has the largest brain of any living or extinct animal on planet earth known for far.
The volume of the largest sperm whale’s brain is about 8,000 cubic centimeters weighing about 20 pounds or 9.2 kgs. On average, their brain can weigh about 17 lbs or 7.8 kgs.
The smallest known brain of the sperm whale weighs about 14 lbs or 6.4 kgs. While the largest is 20 lbs or 9.2 kgs as mentioned above.
If the largest brain of the sperm whale is about 8,000 cubic centimeters, then our brain is only about 1300 cubic centimeters only.
In fact, it is also to be noted that their brain is more than five times heavier than a human brain. Not only humans, in fact, their brain is much more larger than the brains of elephants and dolphins as well.
Another thing to note is that the sperm whale’s cerebrum portion of the brain is the largest in all mammals known so far.
How big is a sperm whale tooth?
It is to be noted that the lower jaw of sperm whales is long and narrow. The lower jaw only has the teeth, and the upper jaw don’t have any teeth.
In fact, sperm whales have 20–26 pairs of conical teeth on their long and narrow lower jaw. When they close their mouth or bite something, the teeth of the lower jaw can fit perfectly and neatly into the sockets of the upper jaw which has no teeth.
Each of the lower jaw’s conical teeth is 10 to 20 cm long and 7 to 10 cm thick and each one can weigh as much as 0.9 to 1 kg at its best.
These are very powerful and strong teeth made up of dentine, a layer of cement and an enamel layer over it. It’s actually cone-shaped and has a small amount of enamel at the ends of each teeth.
The rest of the portion of each tooth is covered by cementum which is a bone-like tissue that forms the outer surface of the teeth.
How big is a sperm whale compared to a human?
About 10 to 12 adult humans can be compared to the size of an adult African Elephant. And, about 4 to 5 of such adult African elephants can be comparable to the size of an adult Sperm Whale.
This means that around 40 to 60 humans beings can be compared to the size of an adult Sperm Whale.
Thus, an adult sperm whale can be around 40 times to about 60 times much larger and bigger than an average adult human being.
How big is a sperm whale eye?
The eye of the sperm whale is the largest among the other toothed whales with an overall ellipsoid structure having a dimension of about 7 cm length, 7 cm breadth, and about 3 cm in thickness.
Each of the eyes is the largest among the toothed whales, weighing about 170 g each. The cornea is elliptical and the lens is spherical.
The size of the eye is contributed due to the size of hard and thick sclera layer that is 1 cm anteriorly and 3 cm posteriorly.
Also, the choroid is very thick and also thanks to the 2-cm-thick retractor muscles overall.
However, the size of each of the eyes is seemingly small, considering it as one of the largest animals on the planet earth.
How big is a sperm whale mouth?
The size of the lower jaw is about 7 to 7.5 feet in length and can open widely to create a gap of about 5 to 5.5 feet between the upper and the lower jaw very easily.
The upper jaw of the sperm whale doesn’t move at all, while the lower jaw can move widely. The lower jaw is long, narrow, and with about 20 to 26 pairs of teeth.
Rudimentary teeth are also present in the upper jaw, but these rarely emerge into the mouth. That’s why it’s better said that the upper jaw has not teeth.
The whale’s open mouth is not a sign of aggression. Sperm whales seem to open their mouths very often.
How big is a sperm whale stomach?
The sperm whale has the longest intestinal system in the world, exceeding 300 m in larger specimens. This longest intestine is connected to the sperm whale’s four-chambered stomach.
The stomach of the sperm whale is so big that it can have a food storing capacity of slightly less than 300 kgs.
And, they have been reported to eat about 280 to 270 kgs of food per day which all gets stored in the stomach.
Sperm whales have four stomach chambers, like a cow, full of digestive enzymes. And, there’s no air inside a stomach apart from methane gas.
The first chamber of the stomach has thick muscular walls to crush the food as they don’t have any mechanisms to chew in their mouth. And, the second chamber is larger and is where the digestion of the food takes place.
Sperm Whale Size Comparison With Other Big Whales
| No. | Whale Type | Size |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Blue Whale | 60 to 90 ft (18 to 27 m) |
| 2. | Finback Whale | 72 to 82 ft (22 to 25 m) |
| 3. | Right Whale | 45 to 60 ft (13 to 18 m) |
| 4. | Sperm Whale | 35 to 60 ft (10.6 to 18 m) |
| 5. | Humpback Whale | 42 to 50 ft (12.8 to 15 m) |
| 6. | Killer Whale (Orca) | 23 to 31 ft (7 to 9.4 m) |
| 7. | Minke Whale | 28 to 30 ft (8.5 to 9 m) |
| 8. | Beluga Whale | 13 to 20 ft (4 to 6 m) |
| 9. | Narwhal Whale | 13 to 15 ft (4 to 4.6 m) |
The Antarctic Blue Whale is likely the largest animal on planet earth, with the largest scientifically cited size reaching 60 to 90 ft (18 to 27 m) in length.
And thus, from the above comparison chart, it can be pretty clearly seen that the Sperm Whale with a size range of about 35 to 60 ft (10.6 to 18 m) is the 4th largest Whale known so far.
This specialist animal is able to easily dive over 2 km underwater to hunt for large prey like deep-sea squid.
The encounters with deep-sea squids often result in extensive scarring on the whale’s face, due to the squid attempting to defend themselves from being eaten with their hooked tentacles.
Is a sperm whale bigger than a blue whale? How big is a sperm whale compared to a blue whale?
No, a Sperm Whale is not bigger than a Blue Whale. It’s because Sperm whale has a body size range of 35 to 60 ft (10.6 to 18 m) whereas, Blue Whale has a body size range between 60 to 90 ft (18 to 27 m).
The size of the Blue Whale is double the size of a Sperm Whale. If the Blue whale is the largest animal on earth than the Sperm whale is the 4th largest animal on earth.
However, if you do a comparison between toothed and non-toothed whales, then it is pretty much clear that the Sperm Whale is the largest toothed whale on Earth.
While the Blue Whale is the largest non-toothed whale on earth. Blue whales do not have teeth and so instead, they have 270 to 395 plates of baleen on either side of their jaw.
Amongst the non-toothed whales, Male sperm whales are bigger than females sperm whales. The male can grow to 50 ft (15.2 m) in length and can weigh up to 40,800 kgs approx.
Although the sperm whale may not be the biggest whale, but it has the biggest brain that ever existed on earth.
The sperm whale also has the longest intestinal system in the world, exceeding 300 m in length in larger specimens, of course.
Summing Up: Are sperm whales dangerous?
Yes, sperm whales are dangerous for squids and other animals that they feed on.
And, they are not at all dangerous for humans, as there have been no encounters between humans and sperm whales so far to date.
In the wild, no such cases of killer whales attacking humans have been heard so far and it’s all because they are found in all deep oceans and not in shallow waters.
And also, they being the most abundant in colder waters like Antarctica, Norway, and Alaska. So, it’s extremely rare for humans to be attacked in such places due to no human and Sperm whale interactions at all.
However, it also to be noted that their clicks (loud sounds) can create so powerful vibrations in the water that they can blow out your eardrums easily leading to death or body paralyzation.
Such cases of death and body paralyzation can only happen if you ever come across a pod (social group) of sperm whales while swimming or diving near them.
So, why their click sound is so deadly?
Sperm whales are the loudest mammals on the planet earth, with their loud sounds reaching an astonishing 230 decibels.
Just for reference, a jet engine from 100 feet away produces about 140 decibels. And, at around 150 decibels your eardrums will burst.
The threshold for human death is estimated to be in the sound range of 180 to 200 decibels. And, the sperm whale can produce 230 decibels of sound which is just deadly for humans.
And, as sound travels differently underwater than it does through air. Meaning, that it’s louder in the air than in water.
So, 230 decibels of the sperm whale’s sound in water can be equivalent to 170 decibels like in air.
But, then also, that’s just enough to burst your eardrums and cause death in many people and often body paralyzation too.