Why Whales Were Hunted
Introduction
Whales have been hunted for thousandsthousands of years. People who lived in cold places in the ArcticArctic could not grow vegetablesvegetables but they could eat whale meat.
Baleen
BaleenBaleen is long, skinnyskinny strips in whales' mouths to catch krill. They are made of keratin,keratin, which our hair and fingernailsfingernails are made of. People used it to make whips, springs, hoops for skirts, fans, fishing poles, shoe laces, hat brims and umbrellas. Now we use metal or plastic when we make these things.
Whale Oil
When you melt whale blubberblubber you get oil.
| Fact Box |
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Greenpeace is trying to save the whales.
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Because the oil burns very brightly,ly, people used it for lights, even lighthouses.lighthouses. They made soap and candles.candles. If they took oil from the brain of a sperm whale, they could use it to make watcheswatches and clocks move smoothly.smoothly.
Conclusion
We should stop hunting whales before they are all gone. Since we don't need baleen or oil from whales anymore,anymore, we should not hunt these beautiful animals.
Glossary
| Arctic | up by the North Pole | crinoline | a cage made of baleen that made a skirt stick out like a teapot cosy |
| blubber | the flesh under the skin of a whale | krill | tiny sea animals like shrimp |
Bibliography
Oh Yikes! History's Grossest, Wackiest Moments by Joy Masoff, published by Workman Publishing in 2006
Great Migrations – Whales by Laura Marsh, published by National Geographic Kids in 2010
By Kiel
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