4" / 10cm throat
Comment on Give us your craziest ocean facts. đŚ
MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Whales suffocate to death; they donât drown.
Human breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. We have to hold our breath on purpose to stop ourselves from automatically breathing. This makes us passive breathers. Whales, however, are active breathers. They must choose to inhale which is why they can sleep without sucking in air. When they get too old, sick, or weak to surface, they suffocate.
Bonus fact: whales canât breathe through their mouths; it goes straight to the stomach. The blowhole is the only respiratory tract.
Bonus bonus: a blue whaleâs throat is so small it could choke to death on a grapefruit.
BudgetBandit@sh.itjust.works â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
5too@lemmy.world â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Iâm sure their throat can be blocked that way; but if they canât breathe through their mouth anyway, is it actually choking? Or just terminally blocked?
MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Fair point. I didnât even consider the ramifications of wording it like that instead of just saying it has a small throat. I tend to use analogies a lot
5too@lemmy.world â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Nah, it makes sense, and ice heard this phrasing before - just always wondered if they meant the poor whale couldnât breathe, or basically just had indigestion!