Blubber

Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians.

[6] Blubber aids buoyancy and streamlines the body, because the organized, complex collagenous network supports the noncircular cross sections characteristic of cetaceans.

[7][8] Research[9] into the thermal conductivity of the common bottlenose dolphin's blubber reveals its thickness and lipid content vary greatly amongst individuals and across life history categories.

Uqhuq,[10] or uqsuq,[11] ("blubber" in the Inuktitut language) is an important part of the traditional diets of the Inuit and of other northern peoples, because of its high energy value and availability.

[12] Whaling largely targeted the collection of blubber: whalers rendered it into oil in try pots, or later, in vats on factory ships.

[16] In the 21st century, blubber contains man-made polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), carcinogens that damage human nervous, immune, and reproductive systems.