6 Under the sea

World Books Learning Ladders Under the Sea

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Dolphin and whale Dolphins and whales are similar animals that live in the ocean. They are mammals, not fish. They feed their young with milk produced by the mother. They also swim up to the surface to breathe, then dive below with a splash. Smooth, rubbery skin helps a blue whale glide through the water. To swim, a whale flips its powerful tail up and down. A baby whale swims close to its mother for safety. It's a fact! A newborn blue whale weighs as much as a grown elephant. A grown blue whale is as long as a row of five elephants!

A whale breathes by sucking in air through one or two blowholes on top of its head. Small, crusty shellfish, called barnacles, live on a whale's back. When a whale breathes out, a spout of misty spray shoots high into the sky. A blue whale has a giant mouth but eats only the tiniest animals in the sea. Dolphins often play together. They swim in groups and make clicking sounds.

Sea turtle A sea turtle can live for as long as 100 years! It usually spends its time paddling underwater in warm, shallow seas. Every few years, a mother turtle swims to a sandy beach. She crawls up the shore and lays lots of eggs, which hatch into baby turtles. A sea turtle swims fast. It uses its long front flippers like oars, as if it is rowing through the water. At night, a mother turtle digs a hole to lay her eggs. She covers the eggs with sand, using her short back flippers. Huge front flippers are great in the water, but they make moving in sand much more difficult.

A thick, heavy shell protects the turtle's soft body underneath. Hard, bony scales cover the shell and make it strong. It is easy to munch tough seaweed with a sharp beak. It's a fact! As soon as baby turtles hatch, they climb out of their sandy hole and crawl to the sea. It is an adventure!