Why can some animals hold their breath for a really long time? I.e., turtles, dolphins, whales, etc… Do they have really big lungs for their size? Do they store oxygen in places other than their lungs? Do they have lower oxygen needs than humans? Are they just more efficient at using oxygen?
In: 8
Yes to all (depending on the animal in question):
– They have of course large lungs (size vs weight vs volume).
– They can store oxygen in blood (more red blood cells for more oxygen binding), lungs and muscles (up to 30x more in muscles for example compared to land based animals).
– They can use anaerob energy generation (non-oxygen energy generation) and their body supports that better than in other animals (muscle acid).
– They can slow down their metabolism, especially for resting.
– The larger the animal the slower is the metabolism compared to the size.
– More efficient propulsion system (so more oxygen remain to stay underwater instead of being wasted to travel).
SYL
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