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Most mammals that live in cold climates have thick fur to keep them warm. A whale has no fur. But it does have thick skin. This skin is lined with blubber. Blubber is a layer of fatty tissue just beneath a marine mammal's skin. The blubber of a whale is 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.1 centimeters) thick.

Blubber acts like an extra layer of clothing. It covers most of the whale's body. Only the flippers, the flukes, and the dorsal fin lack blubber. Blubber keeps out the cold and traps heat in. Without blubber, the whale couldn't survive in icy waters.

A whale can also turn its blubber into energy, which heats up the animal's body. The whale can live off this fatty layer when it can't find food. When there is plenty of food, the whale will build its layer of blubber back up.

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15y ago

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