Are Whales Mammals Or Fish?

Whales are mammals, not fish, but they live underwater like fish do!

Imagine you're playing in a pool, and your friend is wearing a big floatie that helps them swim. That’s kind of what whales do, they have special lungs to breathe air, just like you and me, so they need to come up for air every now and then.

Fish, on the other hand, are more like underwater birds, they use gills to take in water and pull out oxygen from it. They never need to stop swimming or pop up for air.

Whales give birth to live babies, not eggs, just like you! Also, whales have hair on their skin when they're young (you can't see it as they grow older), and they drink milk from their mothers. That’s a big clue that whales are mammals, because all mammals do these things.

So even though whales swim in the ocean like fish, they’re actually more like you, just really, really big! Whales are mammals, not fish, but they live underwater like fish do!

Imagine you're playing in a pool, and your friend is wearing a big floatie that helps them swim. That’s kind of what whales do, they have special lungs to breathe air, just like you and me, so they need to come up for air every now and then.

Fish, on the other hand, are more like underwater birds, they use gills to take in water and pull out oxygen from it. They never need to stop swimming or pop up for air.