Chapter 700: The Fishing Net on the Little Gray Whale
Many people have this perception that whales are expert divers, the kind of giant beasts that can dive for hours at a time and swim hundreds of meters or even thousands of meters deep in the sea, just like the legendary turtles.
Vitan is invincible in the ocean.
This is a misconception.
In terms of diving time, whales are inferior to most animals that are really good at diving. However, because whales are mammals, they are far ahead of a large number of similar species that use their lungs to breathe and will drown in water in a few minutes.
Therefore, it has bonus points in biological characteristics, so it appears that its diving ability is much stronger.
Bonus points can only be bonus points. Compared with the most common turtles, whose diving time often starts at two or three hours, only gall-nosed whales and sperm whales can dive for 120 minutes and 90 minutes respectively, and these are still the limit.
The diving state usually lasts about 50 minutes, so he is already a "diving champion" among whales.
It is evident that only in the extreme state can one touch the lower limit of many diving experts.
Of course, it is quite good in hours, so when the whalers are chasing them, once they see them diving deeply, they have to wait on the spot for a long time.
Next is the "diving runner-up" represented by right whales and baleen whales, which can dive for 60 minutes and 40 minutes respectively, but generally need to rest on the sea surface for 5 to 10 minutes after every 10 to 15 minutes of diving.
Then there are other whales. The time is basically less than half an hour. From the perspective of whale types, these species account for the vast majority.
For example, a blue whale consumes 2 to 4 tons of food every day. When feeding, the swimming speed is 2 to 6 km/h, during migration it is 5 to 33 km, and the maximum speed per hour is 20 to 48 km.
Generally, 10 to 20 small dives are followed by one deep dive. The interval between shallow dives is 12 to 20 seconds, and the deep dive can last for 10 to 30 minutes.
Blue whales are the norm. Sperm whales can dive as deep as two thousand meters in an hour. They are the big daddy among whales and the Bolt among humans.
It is precisely for this reason that in the Middle Ages, humans could only paddle boats to chase whales and kill them randomly. Otherwise, they could just dive deep for an hour and swim far away. Who could catch them?
Those who can board a ship to catch sperm whales are the best among the best, and they are badges of adventure and honor.
Of course, there are also dolphins at the end. The dive is not too deep, usually about 5 minutes, and the porpoise can last up to 23 minutes.
After all, whales are mammals after all, and they use their lungs to breathe, not anything else. The length of the dive depends entirely on oxygen utilization.
Ordinary animals can only exchange 10-15% of the gas in one breath of air. Although the whale's lungs are not large in area, they can renew 80-90% of the air in the lungs with one breath, which is more efficient than a human's deep breathing.
The utilization rate is also higher. When diving, whales' oxygen can be controlled to be supplied to the brain, heart and swimming muscles first, which is very energy-saving in terms of oxygen consumption.
The vast majority of humans cannot do this, and only a handful of world-class breath-holding practitioners can reduce the oxygen supply outside the core organs during long-term training.
In addition, cetaceans have a much higher carbon dioxide tolerance than humans. Many people hold their breath for more than 20 seconds and then want to breathe, not because of lack of oxygen, but because the carbon dioxide concentration in the body increases. Often, the oxygen concentration in the body is still at its highest at this time.
Ninety-nine or ninety-eight percent.
Human free divers have undergone professional training, one of which is very important to improve their carbon dioxide tolerance. Their breath holding time can be much longer than that of untrained people, which is about three to six times longer than that of ordinary people.
But no matter how you use it, it is still the same lung.
"The breathing pattern of gray whale swimming is that when diving shallowly, they first breathe several times, and then conduct a longer deep dive."
"The depth of deep diving is about 100 meters, and the distance traveled underwater is about 1,000 meters. The duration is generally 17 to 18 minutes, and some can only last for 8 minutes at most and 50 minutes at the longest."
After hearing Bi Fang's explanation, a thoughtful person did some calculations and conservatively estimated that the straight-line distance to the coast was more than five miles, nearly three kilometers. Judging from this data alone, it was impossible to escape.
Even if the gray whales explode, if they dive for half an hour at a time, they will only be able to swim two kilometers, just over half.
[Old Fang, can you dig more holes? Please help me.]
[Yes, is it okay to dig holes manually? 】
[In this case, wouldn’t it be better to dig one out every mile? 】
Bi Fang nodded: "Of course."
The water friends were about to smile, but Bi Fang, who was nodding, said calmly: "If the entire ice sheet is very thin, with a thickness of no more than thirty centimeters, and there are no ice ridges within a few kilometers, we can move forward in a straight line, and the gray whale
He can fully understand my thoughts, maintain a considerable degree of trust in me, and is also a clairvoyant who can accurately see ice caves thousands of meters away. I spent two days digging holes, and that can be saved."
A basin of cold water chilled the water friends' hearts. No one thought that there were so many problems here.
Yes, gray whales are not like Bifang who wandered around the ice sheet and knew the specific distance to the coast. Why did they stop moving forward?
Obviously, because there is no chance for them to breathe anywhere within the reach of the perception, the timid and cautious gray whales naturally do not dare to move forward and can only huddle here.
Of course, this cowardly consequence is correct.
Not all areas of the ice field are as thin as the ice in this ice cave. If you look around, you will even find ice caps and ice ridges tens of meters thick. If you want to go straight to the sea, you must take a detour.
Gray whales are not "animal icebreakers" like bowhead whales. They can directly break through ice more than 60 centimeters thick. Without a hard skull, they will only break their heads and bleed.
And judging from Bi Fang's physical strength and how long the gray whale can persist, the distance between the holes must be at least more than one mile, that is, five hundred meters. Otherwise, the cost of digging holes will be too high. Bi Fang's physical strength does not allow it, and the whale insists.
It won't take that long.
But at 500 meters, can the whale follow Bifang without seeing any hope?
These are all problems, which is why Bi Fang walked around the cave again and again without taking any action. Without a solution to the above problems, it is impossible to successfully rescue him.
【Stop scolding, stop scolding】
【Is there no other way?】
【Ah this...】
Just when everyone, even Bi Fang, was at a loss what to do, a whale cry attracted Bi Fang's attention.
He noticed early on that the smallest gray whale was unable to ventilate frequently due to lack of physical strength and could only rely on the help of its parents.
It was the same this time. The little gray whale took a breather with the help of a big gray whale, but the fishing net wrapped around its tail firmly caught Bifang's attention.