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Sperm whales: big heads, lots of teeth, special poo's
Deep in the cold waters beneath the Southern Ocean there is a battle going on.
It's one of the biggest battles fought in nature. And it's one that we humans will rarely get to see.
On one side is a colossal squid (also known as a kraken), the largest invertebrate known to exist at over 12 metres in length. On the other side is its predator.
Its predator is not a mysterious monster of the sea. It is a sperm whale.
Sperm whales can grow up to 20 metres, making them the largest living animal with teeth (the blue whales is bigger, but has baleen instead of teeth).
They are also one of the few animals that can hunt and kill adult colossal squid.
This isn't such good news for the kraken, but it is good news for us.
Not only are there fewer of those freaky kraken's out there, but the sperm whales' deep-sea raids function as a carbon sink, slightly easing the effects of human-induced climate change.
How?
Click here to find out, and to find out more about the fascinating sperm whale with New Scientist.
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