How do you tell the age of a whale?

Senior Moments

It must have a school report with dates on. Now I have heard everything. Apparently the age of a whale can be determined by counting the layers of its earwax growth. http://utica.thepulse.com/Forums/ViewPosts.aspx?TopicID=187 Apr 28 04, 3:58 AM

Arpeggionist

Doesn't the water wash away the earwax? Besides, wouldn't it be easier to ask the whale? Apr 28 04, 5:00 AM

Senior Moments

Growth layers form in certain tissues, a little like growth rings in trees. Researchers count growth layers in the teeth of toothed whales. For baleen whales, researchers count growth layers in the wax plugs in a whale’s ears. Unfortunately, this substance decomposes easily. For both types of whales researchers can resort to counting layers in the tympanic bulla, a bone present in the inner ear. The difficulty lies in determining whether or not a growth layer truly corresponds to one year. Baleen plates can also aid in evaluating age due to growth patterns linked to feeding cycles. A new method for determining age consists of analyzing certain molecules in the eyes. These molecules change with age. This method was used to determine the record age of certain bowhead whales. In this last case researchers had access to another, rather surprising clue. Stone and ivory harpoon tips were found in the blubber of some of the bowhead whales hunted in the 1980s. Thus, these whales had survived a hunt that had taken place before 1870, when metal replaced stone and ivory in the fabrication of weapons. http://www.whales-online.net/eng/FSC.html?sct=forum&pag=msglst.asp Apr 28 04, 5:44 AM

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