Rickey Peiser, age 9, of Dallas, Texas, for her question:
Did the whale ever live on land?
The experts are quite sure that the whale once lived on land. But, so far, no fossil bones of his landlubber ancestors have been found. We can tell from the living whale that his family has not always lived in the sea. This includes all kinds of whales and their smaller cousins the porpoises and the dolphins.
The whale is a mammal and all mammals rot their start on dry land. They could never have developed in the sea. For they are warm‑blooded, air breathing animals. Mother mammals bring forth live babies and feed thorn on mothers milk. Almost all mammals wear fur or, like the porcupine, some substitute for fur.
All life, we are told, begin in the sees many, many millions of years ago. The first plants and animals were tiny, simply things. Through the ages they learned to cope with more and more problems. And so they grew bigger and more complex.
Some 500 million years ngo, a few little follows decided to leave their cradle, the sea, and explore life on the dry land. They adjusted and adapted to this new way of living. They learned to breathe air and they exchanged fins for legs. These changes took many, many millions of years.
The first mammals developed almost 200 million years ago. Soma of these wont on improving until they became lions, camels, horses, dogs and the other mammals we know today. The ancestors of the whales also improved themselves for land life. They developed legs, lungs and hair. They gave up laying eggs and decided to bring forth live babies.
After all that work to become mammals, the whales end their kin decided to return to the sea. They could not change their lungs back to gills nor could they learn to lay eggs again. They could not exchange warm blood for cold blood. But they did make certain changes to help them live in the sea.
After ages of swimming, the whale's front logs became flippers. His tail became flukes, a fine rudder at right angles to his body. His back legs disappeared, leaving only small bones in his skeleton. He lost all of his hair except a few bristles for a mustache.
There were advantages for him to life in the sea. Them was more room, for the oceans cover three fifths of the earth. There was more food, for the oceans always have teemed with life. What's more, water is buoyant and helps to support an animal s body. The whales were able to grow to tremendous size. The 100 ton blue whale is the largest animal who ever lived. He weighs twice as much as any ancient giant dinosaur.
The whale readjusted to ocean life some 60 million years ago, though he kept certain qualities he only could have developed as a land dweller. He is no small brained, egg laying, cold blooded scaly fish. He is a big brained mammal, smart as a dog or a horse.