# How deep can whales go? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755 "2003-04-05T23:17:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/1 "2003-04-05T23:17:48Z")
Just curious. Can whales, like, go to the bottom of the ocean, or would the pressure get them first? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/2 "2003-04-05T23:23:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Sperm whales are the deepest diving whales. Although they live at the surface they dive to hunt giant squid that are bottom dwellers. They have been known to dive as deeply as 10,500 feet (3,200 m), but average dives are about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) deep. The Sperm whale can hold its breath for about an hour. From [url=http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Spermwhale.shtml ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/3 "2003-04-05T23:27:03Z")
[This guy](http://www.metricsucks.com/cgi-bin/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl?read=9064) says Guinness reports a 1.9-mile dive by a sperm whale. There are, of course, many different species of whale, all with different abilities, but I wouldn’t doubt **Q.E.D.** was right and sperm whales were the depth champs. Now, as for how deep whale shit is, you’re on your own. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/4 "2003-04-05T23:32:37Z")
Did anyone else, upon reading the title of this thread, think “Take it all, bitch!”? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/5 "2003-04-06T00:34:20Z")
Interestingly, when people use the term ‘hold their breath’ when talking about whales, it doesn’t mean the same thing as it would with humans. Whales _exhale_ fully before diving to great depths. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/6 "2003-04-06T00:56:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*Did anyone else, upon reading the title of this thread, think “Take it all, bitch!”? \*\* No, just you, **Johnny**. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/7 "2003-04-06T00:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Interestingly, when people use the term ‘hold their breath’ when talking about whales, it doesn’t mean the same thing as it would with humans. Whales _exhale_ fully before diving to great depths. \*\* This is why whales don’t get the [**bends.**](http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/0012/b00799d.html) However, scientists say that [**noise**](http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s440411.htm) just might give both whales and dolphins the bends, cause beachings, etc. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/8 "2003-04-06T01:27:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Interestingly, when people use the term ‘hold their breath’ when talking about whales, it doesn’t mean the same thing as it would with humans. Whales _exhale_ fully before diving to great depths. \*\* Thanks for that info. I will have to look into that. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/9 "2003-04-06T07:55:31Z")
Thanks for the input. My girlfriend just saw _The Core_ (I didn’t) and complained that whales were seen waaaaaaaaaaay further into the ocean than she expected. I don’t know if anyone’s numbers match what she saw, but this will at least help her sleep at night. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/10 "2003-04-06T12:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Interestingly, when people use the term ‘hold their breath’ when talking about whales, it doesn’t mean the same thing as it would with humans. Whales _exhale_ fully before diving to great depths. \*\* Hmm. How do they store oxygen? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/11 "2003-04-06T14:01:08Z")
**Senor** - It’s called the Mammalian Dive Reflex, all mammals have it including humans. [ever hear of a child being ‘revived’ after falling through the ice.?] Basically, when they dive, the blood centralizes in their heart and only feeds their brain. Minimal blood flow to the limbs. How do they swim then, you ask? it is a reflexive motion, up and down motion of their tail… BTW - I worked at a large east coast aquarium though college, we worked with dolphins, beluga’s seals, sea lions… Great experience, and some of the trivia just stays with ya… ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/12 "2003-04-06T15:24:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ResIpsaLoquitor \* > \*\*Thanks for the input. My girlfriend just saw _The Core_ (I didn’t) and complained that whales were seen waaaaaaaaaaay further into the ocean than she expected. I don’t know if anyone’s numbers match what she saw, but this will at least help her sleep at night. \*\* Everything else in that film was wrong, I see no reason to assume they got the bit about whales right 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/13 "2003-04-06T15:26:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*Did anyone else, upon reading the title of this thread, think “Take it all, bitch!”? \*\* Unfortunately, yes… Q. Did you know a whale’s penis is bigger than a man’s? A. Well, duh. Q. No, bigger than a man _is_. (Sorry, sorry. BTW I never checked to see if this is true.) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/14 "2003-04-06T15:33:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*Did anyone else, upon reading the title of this thread, think “Take it all, bitch!”? \*\* Yep---- it reads like a cross between the_Playboy Advisor_ and the Memoirs of Jacques Cousteau. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/15 "2003-04-06T15:45:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\*Unfortunately, yes… > > Q. Did you know a whale’s penis is bigger than a man’s? > A. Well, duh. > Q. No, bigger than a man _is_. > > (Sorry, sorry. BTW I never checked to see if this is true.) \*\* Typically a great-whale penis is on the order of six feet long, with a circumference in proportion, according to one of those Guinness ripoffs that were around 20 or so years ago. (I refuse to Google “whale penis” for a cite! ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/16 "2003-04-06T15:50:57Z")
Well, someone has to: > [@](#): > > 1. Average erect penis length of an elephant, in feet: 5-6 > > 2. Average erect penis length of a humpback whale, in feet: 10 > > 3 Average erect penis length of a man, in inches: 6 > > 1. Average erect penis length of a pig, in inches: 18-20 From [this page](http://www.wesleyan.edu/hermes/prev/dec97/HI.htm). I don’t know about _you_, but _I_ sure feel inadequate right now. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/17 "2003-04-06T16:56:48Z")
They’re prehensile too. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*beluga’s seals… \*\* Should’ve been Beluga whales; from the Russian for white apparently. Another thing about whales’ usage of oxygen is that they exchange gases more efficiently than we do (using more of the oxygen they breathe in with each breath and expelling more CO[sub]2[/sub]. They also saturate their tissues with oxygen somewhat when they dive. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/18 "2003-04-06T19:23:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Typically a great-whale penis is on the order of six feet long, with a circumference in proportion, according to one of those Guinness ripoffs that were around 20 or so years ago. (I refuse to Google “whale penis” for a cite! ;)) \*\* It’s twue! It’s twue! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/19 "2003-04-06T22:25:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Well, someone has to: > From [this page](http://www.wesleyan.edu/hermes/prev/dec97/HI.htm). > > I don’t know about _you_, but _I_ sure feel inadequate right now. :eek: \*\* Well, **QED** , the next time your date calls you a “pig” after getting hot and heavy with you – consider it a compliment! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755/20 "2003-04-06T23:55:08Z")
“Q. Did you know a whale’s penis is bigger than a man’s?” Even a barnacle’s penis is bigger than a mans penis. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-deep-can-whales-go/166755.md?page=2)