for their own good... is the general name for the large,
primarily marine mammals belonging to the order Cetacea (the
smaller members of the order are called "dolphins" or
"porpoises"). The Cetaceans are an ancient group, some going
back to the Eocene epoch (55 million years ago). They are
fascinating creatures, highly adapted to aquatic life and yet
exhibiting clearly mammal characteristics – they develop their
young internally, give birth at sea, nurse the young with milk
and are warm-blooded. They make long migratory journeys between
feeding and breeding areas, most taking their trips in groups
(pods or gams) made up of families and traveling to and from the
same general areas of the sea year after year. Not counting the
dolphins, there are 11 whale species that have been confirmed
present in Philippine waters, a report from Silliman University
indicates. These are: Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae),
Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Bryde’s whale
(Balaenoptera edeni), Short-finned pilot whal