November in the Aegean, and the crew of Triton is monitoring a large male sperm whale at the moment it begins an impressive dive, descending to about 850 meters, in the area of the Ikaria trench.

A few interesting facts about sperm whales, the giants of our seas.

After 20-30 million years of evolution, sperm whales have perfectly adapted not only to surface conditions, but they also have the ability to dive to depths reaching 1000-2000 meters with only one breath, where they stay for 1-2 hours. There, they search for their prey in total darkness using echolocation – a remarkable sensory ability to “see underwater with sound”, much like sonar on a submarine.

The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale in the world, with females measuring 8 – 12 meters and males 16 – 18 meters, weighing 24 and 57 tons respectively. Their lifespan is about 70 years, while their population in the Mediterranean Sea is smaller than 2,500 mature individuals. Their presence in the Greek seas has been reported since antiquity, with the first descriptions – which were impressive for their time – done by the philosopher and polymath Aristotle.

Only when we understand the wildlife of our seas, can we protect it!