7 The Whale Clan

If you're looking for a whale, you have a whole family of creatures to choose from. The papa of the whale family is, of course, the whale itself. But there are other members as well. Relatives, you might say.

Few people realize that dolphins aren't fish. Fish breathe through gills and lay eggs. The dolphin does neither. Dolphins, like all the members of the whale clan, are mammals. They breathe air and they have babies like land mammals and feed them with milk. Dolphins are fascinating to watch. They can leap high out of the water and perform turns in the air. These leaps give the dolphin time to breathe.

Porpoises also belong to the whale family and are very much like dolphins. The main difference between dolphins and porpoises is the size and shape of the snout. The dolphin's nose is long and thin. The snout of the porpoise is short and stubby. Both creatures are smart and friendly to humans.

Not all the members of the whale family are friendly. Perhaps the difference in mood has to do with size. The giant whale is much grumpier than the smaller dolphin or porpoise. An angry whale can be hard to ignore. Perhaps this trait helped to inspire the story of Moby Dick, the Great White Whale who sank a ship and caused the crew to drown.

如果你在寻找鲸鱼，你可以从一整个家族的生物中选择。鲸鱼家族的“爸爸”当然就是鲸鱼本身。但还有其他成员，你可以称之为亲戚。

很少有人意识到海豚不是鱼。鱼通过鳃呼吸并且产卵。海豚两者都不具备。和鲸鱼家族的所有成员一样，海豚是哺乳动物。它们呼吸空气，像陆地哺乳动物一样生育幼崽，并用乳汁喂养它们。海豚看起来很迷人。它们可以从水中高高跃起，还能在空中翻转。这些跳跃动作让海豚有时间呼吸。

鼠海豚也属于鲸鱼家族，和海豚非常相似。海豚和鼠海豚之间的主要区别在于吻部的大小和形状。海豚的鼻子又长又细，鼠海豚的吻部则又短又粗。这两种生物都很聪明，对人类也很友好。

并非鲸鱼家族的所有成员都很友好。也许情绪的差异与体型有关。巨型鲸鱼比体型较小的海豚或鼠海豚脾气暴躁得多。一头发怒的鲸鱼很难被忽视。也许这种特性启发了《白鲸记》的故事，那只大白鲸击沉了一艘船，导致船员溺水身亡。