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Sperm whale diving

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) have wrinkly skin and a large rather square head that makes up around one third of their body length. Females are smaller than males and have a proportionately smaller head.

 

They are purplish-brown or dark grey in colour, with white underneath. The dorsal fin has been reduced to a low hump and there is only one, slit-like blowhole, situated on the top left side of the snout.

 

Their angled, bushy blows make them easy to spot even though they rarely show much more above the surface.

 

Newborn: length 3.5-4.5 m

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) or cachalot /ˈkæʃəˌlɒt, ˈkæʃəˌloʊ/ is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.

The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding.Females and young males live together in groups while mature males live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature sperm whale has few natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of orcas.

Entered into TMI's "In the style of... hidden faces" challenge, Feb 2026.

View the challenge HERE

The artist Kiki Smith focuses our gaze on nature and the human body. Here more than 700 hand-blown pieces of glass spread out on the floor.

Photo taken with Nikon D810 camera. Location: Straits of Gibraltar.

 

Spain; Offshore La Azohia, Murcia 25/4/24.

  

I read about photographerJulia Buruleva who travelled to India, painted an elephant pink and made pictures of the animal. Then the elephant died and Julia became the subject of controversy, being accused of poisoning the elephant.

 

Without travelling the world I thought it a good idea to have Midjourney paint some animals for my series Pink Elephant and find out what their destiny will be.

 

Article on Pink Elephant in India Today

 

Stickers on tile

Stickers on lamp, Glasgow

The day Matt and I told our parents, was this Saturday just gone (6th September). I'd arranged for them to all come to our house - Matt's parents were coming up to stay the night as they live in Nottingham.

 

The excuse I used was it was a celebration for Matt's birthday which is on the 12th.

 

I bought this cake for Matt. It was about half way through the day when my Father-In-Law rather drunkenly asked if I'd chosen a cake with 'sperm' on it on purpose!

As you can imagine, we all fell about laughing! Then it got even sillier when my Mum, who was well oiled' suddenly raised her champagne glass and yelled "Cheers to the sperm".

 

Oh the embarrassment! :)

Spain; Offshore La Azohia, Murcia 25/4/24.

A group of four Sperm Whales including this albina adult.

 

Spain; Offshore La Azohia, Murcia 25/4/24.

A group of four Sperm Whales including this albina adult.

 

Spain; Offshore La Azohia, Murcia 25/4/24.

A group of four Sperm Whales including this albina adult.

 

Spain; Offshore La Azohia, Murcia 25/4/24.

  

Her white lips are clearly visible.

 

Please note that my pictures are All rights reserved. Please be especially careful not to upload them on sites like Facebook or Instagram, unless it's in small size. This is because their terms of service are highly objectionable.

 

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This skeleton is that of a Sperm Whale which was stranded on the beach at the Bay of Tuquoy in 2008*. The sea brings many things ashore and Whale vertebrae have been found in ancient housing as the base for door posts to pivot upon. A little like the great bounty of god being seen in Bulls and Bison from older cultures, the Whale could and did in time past provide much for us. Currently we are still trying to understand why Whales ground themselves and what we can do to help them. This reminder of their size, splendour and awesome wonderment.

 

© PHH Sykes 2024

phhsykes@gmail.com

  

*Westray Heritage Centre

westrayheritage.co.uk/

 

This photograph genuinely made me laugh out loud, mainly for the expression on the male's face when she presented her cloaca to him. He looks like he has never seen anything quite like that before. I was photographing the female as she fed along a small river then she looked up raised her tail and started quivering her wings. She also pushed open her cloaca. The male alighted next to her, inspected her equipment, then jumped on her back and started mating. Birds have a single urogenital opening that serves for reproduction and excretion. The name of the opening is a cloaca, which is Latin for a sewer or drain. Most birds mate by pressing their cloacal openings together, often called a cloacal kiss, where the male passes across a package of sperm. And on the subject of cloacas (or is it cloacae?), does anyone remember the wonderful book Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs? The Bogeymen lived in a world that was opposite to ours, where darkness, damp, dirt and grime were highly valued, and one of their drinks was "Cloaca Cola".

 

I had always identified male Grey Wagtails by their black throats, and females by their largely pale throats. But I have spent quite a lot of time watching Grey Wagtails this spring and have noticed that this is not a hard and fast rule. Males often have pale feathers interspersed, and females often have rather dark throats. This male on the right had a throat with less black than the female.

Balletic duo, taken under permit

Picture taken in the waters outside Andenes in Northern-Norway.

another zebra stripped sperm whale (not really, just reflection)

I read about photographerJulia Buruleva who travelled to India, painted an elephant pink and made pictures of the animal. Then the elephant died and Julia became the subject of controversy, being accused of poisoning the elephant.

 

Without travelling the world I thought it a good idea to have Midjourney paint some animals for my series Pink Elephant and find out what their destiny will be.

 

Article on Pink Elephant in India Today

 

Pottwal - Sperm whale Azoren

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