Why do whales die like fish?

Question

If whales are mammals like us and need air to breath
then why do beached whales die just like fish

Answer 1

They don't die because they can't breath the air, they die because they have a hard time lifting their own weight to breath. They also can die from loss of water, because their skin needs to be moist. A fish will die because it takes oxygen from the water and doesn't have the capability of taking oxygen from air.

Answer 2

They don't.
Beached whales die because, as others have correctly said, their body structure cannot support their weight on land.
When a fish dies on land, it's mainly because it chokes. The gills that fish use for breathing work well in water, but as gill filaments are formed by extremely thin laminae, they collapse (stick together) and cease to function as gas-exchange surfaces on land, due to high surface tension; plus they dessicate which directly stops gas flow.
Whales breathe with lungs, like all other mammals. In fact, they would drown if they couldn't come up to breathe. But the shape of their hydrodynamic bodies is well-designed for the marine environment, where sea water (with its high salt content) provides high buoyancy. On land, gravity takes over and their ribcage just cannot support their weight. The high buoyancy of the marine environment is what has allowed some of the largest animals to evolve in the world's oceans; but the skeleton of a whale is relatively weak and small (compare it with its body mass in this picture http://www.tmmsn.org/images/WhaleDolphinSkeleton2.jpg ).
Also, as others have also mentioned, the skin of cetaceans dessicates, it quickly gets dry and cracked. This happens because it is not highly keratinized as in terrestrial mammals.

Answer 3

I don't think they die like fish. They die of some other problem, like starvation or maybe their bodies can't handle being out of the water for a long time due to weight. They live for a long time beached. That is why they can be rescued

Answer 4

I'm no expert, but I believe it has to do with their extraordinary weight, and the fact that they can only maneuver like fish do...leaving them just as helpless when in trouble. (they may breathe air but they cant exactly come to shore and walk away....hence the expression "beached whale")

Answer 5

imagine for a second your arthritis thoroughly vanishing in the present day. If, in a second, your discomfort and stiffness melted away. And your joints impulsively functioned like a properly-oiled gadget. Like a magic wand replaced into waived, you'd be able to leap up out of your chair and run around the room like a baby. and picture that you would by no skill ought to wade through as a lot as a pinch of arthritis stiffness or discomfort ever lower back. i recognize this sounds not plausible in the present day, yet submit to with me, because each sometimes miracles take position. It replaced right into a present from a lady on the different facet of the international. From the kindness of her heart, she took pity on my suffering and taught me a thanks to thoroughly opposite my arthritis. at present, i favor to do an similar for you!

Answer 6

Most of the other people are right. They are the heaviest creatures on Earth. They evolved to be so because the water supports them, but on land theywill die a (what I can imagine to be) very painful death as their body essentially crushes itself.

Answer 7

whales are mammals like us.Some people say their fish because they live in water.Just like dolphins they too need air.The blowholes on top of their heads are nostrils.They die because when their on land they can't go anywhere.People sometimes help whales when they are stranded.

Answer 8

Their weight on land collapses against their lungs, making them slowly unable to take a breath. It is the same effect that happens when someone is crucified for example, they are no longer able to extend their lungs, and they slowly suffocate.

Answer 9

i think its something to do with supporting their own weight, like their lungs get squashed or something. not positive but sounds right.
Dam, u start writing an answer and by the time u send it 8 people have already said it. Hmmm.

Answer 10

Whales are not people, and they are fish. Whoever catogory'd these things back in whenever they were on crack