whales

[cristobal]

Do whales need to drink fresh water as they are a mamal?

[New Forester]

Whales do drink some sea-water with their food.  However, they have very large kidneys, so (unlike us) are able to produce urine which is saltier than sea-water -- therefore they can safely drink sea-water.  If we tried that, we'd have to produce more urine than the water we drank, and would soon die of dehydration.

 

Most sea mammals are similar, though there are some sea-living ones which do need fresh water.  For example, the European otter lives in rivers, but many individuals also live on the foreshore.  These sea-living otters must return to fresh water every day to drink and bathe (they are of course not the proper sea-otter, which is a different, full-time marine mammal from the Pacific).

 

[MORELLO]

Yeah, they haul their massive bodies out of the sea unaided, and make their way to the nearest tap or pond where they consume as much fresh water as they need. I hear Orcas are quite partial to mineral water.