Ranging over the oceans of the world, the great whales and dolphins (some of the former weighing upto 150 tonnes) include remarkable acrobats and skilled communicators. The whales and dophins are mamals perfectly adapted to aquatic life. They cannot survive on dry land Each species of whale has a characteristic SPOUT. When returning to the surface, whales and dolphins can empty their lungs completely in just one or two breaths through their blowholes. The sudden and tremendously powerful exhalation of stale air stored up during the animal's long dive is known as the blow or SPOUT. The Right whale has a double spout, the Rarqual a single one, while Sperm Whale's spout shoots out at a 45 degree angle.

The dolphin family is large and varied, containing 32 species that live in all the oceans of the world. The largest and most imposing of them is the Killer Whale, or Orcha. The best loved is probably the Bottle-Nosed Dolphin, the star of many films like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Other species include the common Dolphin, the Spinner Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin, the Tucuxi, etc. The colour of dolphins varies greatly and depends on the areas where they feed. Dolphins with large splashes of colour generally feed near the surface of the water, where the differences in shades and the patterns of sunlight blur the outline of the animal. This effectively camouflages them from predators, such as sharks as well as from the dolphin prey.

Centuries of hunting have left the population of many Great Whales in precarious position. In recent years, the nations of the world have come to realize that if the slaughter goes on, the largest animals ever to have graced the earth may simply disappear. Through the international whaling commission (IWC) it was agreed that there should be a temporary ban on commercial whaling from 1985. Most countries have since complied with the ban, but unfortunately, there are still those that refuse to follow the spirit of the agreement, notably, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Ireland

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Front cover
Page 1
Cheese Balls Recipe by Tania Das
A visit to RCFC by Mini Chaterjee
Titans of the deep by Aparupa Biswas
Memories of being small by Miki Deb
Animal Corner: "Talk" to the animals ?? by Johara Shahabuddin
Craft Idea by Bidisha Das
Our Earth = A Garden Green House by Gautam Basu
Thank you
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