Skip to main content

Blue Whale

Balaenoptera musculus
Happy World Oceans Day everybody! And what animal could represent the oceans better than the largest one in them? Meet the astonishing Blue Whale, the biggest creatures to have ever lived!

Blue Whales can reach lengths of up to 100ft, and weigh nearly 400,000lbs. That is incredible! Their hearts are the size of a small car, and their tongues can weigh as much as an elephant! In fact, right at birth they are already one of the largest animals on the planet. A newborn can measure over 25ft long and weigh 3 tons. (They also will grow 200lbs every single day!)

It is amazing to think that an animal so massive has a diet that is based exclusively on tiny little crustaceans called Krill. During the Arctic summers, they can consume up to 4tons of Krill in a single day! They feed by gulping a huge amount of water into their mouths, expanding their mouths and belly out in the process. They then push the Krill up into their baleen plates and strain the water out, leaving only the tasty little crustaceans behind.

Blue Whales can be found in all of the world's oceans, and they often migrate long distances between the poles and the equator every year. They typically travel alone, but are sometimes found in very small groups. Even if they are alone, they can still find one another with relative ease, considering they are the loudest animals out there. Their low frequency, 188 decibel sounds can be heard hundreds of miles away!

Comparison between an average Blue Whale,
a human, and  a Hector's Dolphin
So we've already learned that the Blue Whale is the largest animal, and the loudest. But did you know they are also one of the most long lived? Scientists estimate that their average lifespan is 80-90 years, and that ages of well over 100 are common.

Unfortunately, Blue Whale populations aren't doing so hot. They were absolutely decimated during the commercial whaling boom, with hundreds of thousands being killed before the ban. Hunting of the species has been outlawed since 1966, but recovery has been slow. Blue Whales are listed as Endangered, and there may be less than 10,000 left in the entire world, with most being found in the Northern Hemisphere.
IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : Oceans Worldwide
Size : Length up to 98ft (30m), Weight up to 200tons (180 metric tons)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Cetacea
Family : Balaenopteridae -- Genus : Balaenoptera -- Species : B. musculus
Labels:

Comments

  1. Blue WhaleAugust 11, 2012 at 4:21 PM

    the immense size of the Blue whale is one of the most well known Blue whale facts. Truly realising how large Blue whales can become are however difficult, since we typically see them filmed in the ocean where there are not a lot of familiar objects to compare them with.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more