Sperm Whale
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Sperm Whale Habitat

Sperm whale habitat

The Sperm whale habitats are found all the world’s oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea. The species is considered to be comparatively abundant from the equator to the Arctic. The typical Sperm whale habitat has a water dept of at least 600 meters (1968 feet), and seeing Sperm whales in waters where the dept is less than 300 meters (984 feet) is really uncommon. The most densely inhabited Sperm whale habitats are found near continental shelves and canyons, most likely because such areas makes feeding easier. It is uncommon for Sperm whales to venture close to shore, but in areas where the continental shelf is small they will proceed somewhat closer to land than normally.  

Female Sperm whale habitat

The normal Sperm whale habitat will very somewhat between the two sexes. Adult females like deep waters far from land; preferably with a depth of 1000 meters (3280 feet) or more. They are sometimes spotted close to oceanic islands, but these islands are normally located far from the mainland. Female Sperm whales are normally seen at low altitudes, i.e. less than 40°. You can however encounter them up to 50° in the North Pacific. In areas that fulfil these requirements are usually tropical or subtropical and the temperature of the sea surface normally stays above 15°C.

Male Sperm whale habitat

Adult males like considerably colder habitats and they also venture close to land; or at least close to the pack ice. Sperm whale habitats for adult males are found near the Antarctic as well as in Artic waters. During the breeding period, the adult males migrate to warmer waters to meet females. Immature males stay with their mothers and other female Sperm whales. Some males start to migrate towards colder water when they are no older than four years; others stay in the warm Sperm whale habitat with the females until they are over 20 years old.

Sperm whale habitat depth

As mentioned above, Sperm whales are not particularly fond of shallow parts of the ocean. The Sperm whale is actually one of the deepest-diving mammals in the world, and the Sperm whale habitat may actually proceed as deep down as 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet). A normal dive will however go down to around 400 meters.