Blue Whale with Calf-wikipedia

The Blue Whale is truly one of nature’s most incredible creations.  It is the largest creature ever to have inhabited the earth. The Blue Whale averages 80- 100 feet in length and can weigh over 100 tons. On land, an animal of this size would be crushed by its own weight. Blue-gray in color, the Blue Whale takes on an almost translucent blue color in the water. Although Blue Whales can be found in all the oceans of the world, the whaling industry hunted them almost to extinction.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), pre-whaling populations were estimated at over 350,000 whales.

 Currently, the Blue Whale population is estimated at 3,000-5,000 individuals.

• The Blue Whale is one of the rorquals, a family that also includes the humpback whale, fin whale, Bryde’s whale, sei whale,  and mike whale.
• The Blue Whale’s scientific name is: Balaenoptera musculus.
• The Blue Whale’s heartbeat can be heard two miles away, and its heart is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.
• They swim 14 miles per hour (with bursts as fast as 30 mph) and feed at depths of less than 330 feet (but can dive as deep as 1,640 feet). Dives last from 10 to 20 minutes.
• Blue whales have about 300 to 400 baleen plates instead of teeth which they use to strain food from the ocean water. A blue whale can eat up to 7,715 pounds of krill (small shrimp-like organisms) per day.
• Blue whales generally spend winters in temperate and subtropical zones, migrating toward the polar regions in spring and summer.
• Blue whales may be found singly or in small groups, but it is most common to find them in pairs.

To learn more about these magnificent creatures, please visit the World Wildlife Fund website,  the Amerian Cetacean Society website.

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