Sperm Whales Have the Biggest Brains, but How Smart Are They?

Believe it or not, having a brain that weighs 20 pounds means there are a lot of qualities that humans share with these giant marine mammals.

By Sara Novak
Nov 19, 2022 2:00 PM
Sperm whales
(Credit: Catmando/Shutterstock)

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The sperm whale is an astonishing creature. It’s longer than a semi-truck, weighs more than 90,000 pounds and is the largest member of the toothed whale family. It’s known to dive 6,500 feet in search of prey, and to stay down there for longer than an hour at a time.

Perhaps most fantastically, the sperm whale’s brain weighs in at a whopping 20 pounds — the biggest of any species on Earth. To put it in perspective, that’s about five times the size of a human brain.

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