WILD BITES: How does a sperm whale survive the crushing depths a mile underwater?
A really good free diver can get down to 400 feet – that’s like a 40-story skyscraper. But there’s an animal that can go way beyond even those depths.
Meet the sperm whale, the true deep divers of the ocean. On this WILD BITE, we'll look at how an animal that’s bigger than a large school bus can dive 10 times deeper than the limit of an extreme human and not die.
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To function at over a mile down, the sperm whale has a pretty incredible adaptation to water pressure, their bodies are flexible and their ribs are bound by cartilage that’s bendable so the rib cage collapses. Their lungs collapse too to prevent them from rupturing.
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Chris Morgan
Host, "The Wild"
Chris Morgan has worked as a wildlife researcher, wilderness guide, and environmental educator worldwide for more than 20 years.
More stories from Chris Morgan » -
Matt Martin
Podcast Producer
Matt Martin is a podcast producer who has worked on many different show for KUOW. He helped get KUOW's listener based podcast SoundQs off the ground before then heading on to pitch and create THE WILD with Chris Morgan, a sound rich and experiential podcast about ecology and conservation.
More stories from Matt Martin »
