Whales are expert deep sea divers and sometimes they can even challenge their own records. The deepest dive made by a blundering sperm whale was recorded to be 3200 feet which is extraordinary for this creature. This dive was recorded in 1932 during its encounter with a submarine on the ocean floor.
Protected as they are from the terrific pressure of the water by a layer of fat or blubber sometimes 20 inches thick just beneath the skin, whales can dive to tremendous depths. This was suspected long before it was proved, since the large squids upon which the sperm whale feeds are usually found in very deep water.
Positive proof of the whale’s deep-diving ability, however, was obtained when in 1932 a blundering sperm whale became entangled in a submarine cable on the ocean floor, 3200 feet down. The cable was broken and, when it was hauled to the surface for repairs, the drowned whale was still caught in it.
Some authorities believe that whales can dive even deeper than this. Such an accomplishment by a mere flesh-and-blood mammal can be appreciated when we remember that the sperm whale reached a depth more than 200 feet deeper than that reached by the famous metal bathysphere, which was especially constructed for deep-sea diving.