The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). At up to 30 metres (98 ft) in length and with a maximum recorded weight of 173 tonnes (191 short tons) and probably reaching over 181 tonnes (200 short tons), it is the largest animal known to have ever existed.
Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath.[9] There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. inter media of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill.[10]
Blue Whale is the largest animal on earth.
Despite being so massive, this giant of the ocean feeds on some of the smallest marine life – tiny shrimplike animals called krill. A single adult blue whale can consume 3,6000kg of krill a day.
They mainly catch their food by diving, and descend to depths of
approximately 500m.
Blue whales occasionally swim in small groups but usually swim
alone or in pairs. They are thought to form close attachments.
In spite of their bulk, these graceful swimmers cruise the ocean at
over 8km/h, and can reach speeds of over 30km/h.
A baby blue whale (calf) emerges weighing up to 2,7000kg and up to
8m long. New born whales are helped to the surface of the water by
their mothers and are often encouraged (nudged) by other females so
that they can take their first breath of air.
The calf is suckled in the
water, drinking more
than 600 litres of milk
each day and gaining
about 90kg every day
for its first year.
Intensive hunting in the 1900s by whalers seeking whale oil drove
them to the brink of extinction. Hundreds of thousands of whales
were killed. The 1966 International Whaling Commission finally gave
them protection, although they have only recovered slightly since
then. Blue whales are currently classified as endangered on the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List. It is estimated that only 10,000-