Whale Dive Physiology Simulator

Diving mammals carry a fixed oxygen budget into every breath-hold dive, split between the lungs, the blood and the myoglobin locked in their swimming muscle. This simulator models that budget for three real divers — a Weddell seal, a sperm whale and a Cuvier's beaked whale — and plays out a full dive: descent, foraging at depth and ascent, with heart rate falling into bradycardia the instant the animal submerges and oxygen draining according to the Fick principle. Toggle the dive response off to see why it matters: without the heart-rate drop, the same O₂ store runs dry long before the Aerobic Dive Limit, forcing an early or failed surfacing.