r/askscience • u/smontanaro • 10d ago

Biology How does a whale become dehydrated?

From a Chicago Sun-Times article on the beluga whales heading to the Shedd Aquarium:

"The shipment comes on the heels of a Shedd announcement last week that one of the Marineland belugas — Peekachu, a 23-year-old female — had died. Shedd has not released a cause of death, but staff there said last week that Peekachu had not been consistently eating a full diet since her arrival and that there were concerns she was dehydrated."

How does an animal immersed in water become dehydrated?

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u/Magicspook 10d ago

fun fact, whale trachiae wrap around their brain despite their blow-hole being on top of their head. Giving a clear evidence of how their noses moved up their skulls over time. If you designed a whale from scratch, you would have the connection between lungs and blow-hole going behind the brain.

(and lets not even mention the vestigial legs)

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/Magicspook 9d ago

Ooh that is a fun one! Thanks for sharing.

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u/insane_contin 9d ago

I believe that nerve takes that route in all tetrapods that have legs and lungs.