Sperm whales hunting 1800s resources

Today Nantucket Island is a fashionable summer resort: a place of T-shirt shops and trendy boutiques. Part of what makes the island unique is its place on the map. For a relatively brief period during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this lonely crescent of sand at the edge of the Atlantic was the whaling capital of the world and one of the wealthiest communities in America. And yet lurking beneath this almost ethereal surface is the story of a community that sustained one of the bloodiest businesses the world has ever known.

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Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus are the largest toothed whales, with enormous square-shaped heads and the biggest brains of any animal on Earth. These deep-divers are known for hunting down giant squid and other prey as deep as 1. Sperm whales are the only living species in the genus Physeter and are more closely related to dolphins than to baleen whales, such as blue whales opens in new tab. The name sperm whale comes from early whalers who mistook the waxy oil found in the spermaceti organ in a sperm whale's head for semen, according to the Zoological Society of London opens in new tab ZSL. Humans hunted sperm whales extensively in the s and s for their spermaceti oil to use in oil lamps and other products, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opens in new tab NOAA.

Activate students' prior knowledge about whales. Ask: What are some examples of whale species? What can you tell me about them? Write students' ideas on the board.