A mammal is an animal with a warm body and a coat of hair or fur to help keep this warmth. When their young are born they are alive and not inside an egg like birds and insects.
Whales spend all their lives in water. They are not fish, they are mammals and they breathe air. To keep their bodies warm, whales have a thick layer of fat under their skin instead of a fur coat like the mammals that live on land.
A Baby whale is called a calf. Whale calves can swim at or soon after birth. Mother whales care for their young for a long period of time, usually at least a year, feeding them milk and protecting them.
When a baby whale is born, it must take its first breath in the air above the water otherwise it will drawn and die. So as soon as a baby whale is born, its mother with the help of other females will nudge it quickly to the surface.
