Most females will form lasting bonds with other females of their family, and, on average, 12 females and their young will form a social unit. Even though males are sexually mature at this time, they often do not actively participate in breeding until their late twenties. Unlike females, puberty in males is prolonged, and may last between the ages of 10 to 20 years old. Males reach physical maturity around 50 years and when they are approximately 52 feet long. Females reach their maximum length and are physically mature around 30 years old at which they measure up to 35 feet long.įor about the first 10 years of life, males are only slightly larger than females, but males continue to exhibit substantial growth until they are well into their 30s. Although calves will eat solid food before one year of age, they continue to nurse for several years. After a 14 to 16-month gestation period, a single calf about 13 feet long is born. At this point, growth slows and they produce a calf approximately once every five to seven years. We engage our partners as we develop regulations and management plans that encourage recovery, foster healthy fisheries, reduce the risk of entanglements, create whale-safe shipping practices, and reduce ocean noise.įemale sperm whales reach sexual maturity around 9 years of age when they are roughly 29 feet long. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and rescue these endangered whales. NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding sperm whale populations. The sperm whale is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. While whaling is no longer a major threat, sperm whale populations are still recovering. Sperm whales were a primary target of the commercial whaling industry from 1800 to 1987, which nearly decimated all sperm whale populations. Spermaceti was used in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles. The spermaceti is an oil sac that helps the whales focus sound. They are named after the waxy substance-spermaceti-found in their heads. They are found in all deep oceans, from the equator to the edge of the pack ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales and have one of the widest global distributions of any marine mammal species.

Deep blue shark eating whale