There are two more groups in the North Atlantic, and at least two in the Southern Hemisphere. The average weight of the longest scientifically verified specimens (29.9 m, 98 ft) would be calculated to be 176.5 tonnes (194.5 tons), varying from 141 tonnes (155.5 tons) to 211.5 tonnes (233.5 tons) depending on fat condition. Antarctic males averaged 25 m (82 ft) and females 26.2 m (86 ft), averaging 101.5 and 118 tonnes (112 and 130 tons). A blue whale's heart alone is about the size of a small car and weighs about 1,000 pounds. It can be various shades of bluish-grey above and somewhat lighter underneath. Blue whale calls last between ten and thirty seconds. They do not form the large, close-knit groups seen in other baleen species. Females typically give birth once every two to three years at the start of the winter after a gestation period of 10 to 12 months. Given the uncentralized central nervous systems that most animals on earth have, the timing for signals to get from brain to acting body part can get quite long when your tail is 30 m from your head. It takes 10 to 12 months to carry a calf to term. The maximum weight of one blue whale is the same weight as about 40 African elephants. Scientists estimate that blue whales can live for at least 80 years, but since individual records do not date back into the whaling era, this will not be known with certainty for many years. Lieut. The world’s largest creature depends on some of the smallest for survival. Scientists determine their precise age by counting the layers of wax in the years. This caused a co… Amazing Facts About the Blue Whale. In comparison to a blue whale a dolphins heart has a heart rate of 35 – 45 beats per minute and a humans heart has an average heart rate of around 60 – 80 beats per minute. The blue whale is the largest animal in the history of the world. In the nineteenth century, they were hunted almost to extinction by whalers. Blue whales travel alone or sometimes in small groups, like twos or threes. Blue whale (Balaenoptera Musculus) is by far the largest animal in the world that has ever lived on this planet. In the eastern North Pacific, photogrammetric studies have shown sexually mature (but not necessarily fully grown) blue whales today average 21.7 m (71 ft), and about 65.5 tonnes (72 tons) with the largest found being about 24.5 m (80.5 ft) – although a 26.5 m (87 ft) female washed ashore near Pescadero, California in 1979. The dorsal fin is small; its height averages about 28 centimetres (11 in), and usually ranges between 20 cm (8 in) and 40 cm (16 in), though it can be as small as 8 cm (3.1 in) or as large as 70 cm (28 in). There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. A blue whale can be rated among the huge mature animals at birth. Throat grooves. Blue whales are known for delivering big calves. The answer to this question is actually quite simple. The underside sometimes has a yellowish tinge, caused by an algae, which has given the blue whale the nickname of sulphurbottom. Measuring 70 to 80 feet in length (the longest recorded length was 106 feet), blue whales can weigh as much as 90 to 150 tons. Another stranded blue whale, thought to be about 12.2 metres (40 feet) long, was rescued in India in February 2016. The first video of a calf thought to be nursing was made 5 February 2016. As with other mammals, the fundamental instinct of the whale was to try to carry on breathing at all costs, even though this meant beaching to prevent itself from drowning. The Exhibition Lab's blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History. The blue is a relatively shallow diver and generally finds its food within 150m of the water surface. Blue whales are difficult to weigh because of their size. Famous for their sheer mass, blue whales glide effortlessly through the ocean, dwarfing all else in their path. The longest size ever recorded was staggering 108 feet. Not only are the Blue Whales the world’s largest animals, but they are … Verified measurements rarely exceed 28 meters (92 ft). The blue whale's body is long and slender. Blue whales have proportionally small brains, only about 6.92 kilograms (15.26 lb), about 0.007% of its body weight, although with a highly convoluted cerebral cortex. They each have huge heads that are broad, long and have a unique U-shaped arch, and can reach up to a quarter of their body lengths in size. Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth . The blue whale eats mostly very tiny creatures, like krill. Blue whales are oceanic animals and have been seen in every ocean. The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived. The flippers are 3–4 metres (10–13 ft) long. Blue whales gorge on krill in the rich waters of the Antarctic before migrating to their breeding grounds in the warmer, less-rich waters nearer the equator. Learn more amazing facts about the blue whale in this video from National Geographic Kids. Because krill move, blue whales typically feed at depths of more than 100 metres (330 ft) during the day and only surface-feed at night. Adult weights typically range from 50–150 tonnes (55–165 short tons). It has a long, blue-gray body with a small dorsal fin on its back. The weight of individual blue whales varies significantly according to fat condition. As this phenomenon has not been seen in any other populations, researchers believe it may be unique to the B. m. brevicauda (pygmy) subspecies. Even at birth, they weigh up to 2,700 kilograms (6,000 lb)—the same as a fully grown hippopotamus. The biggest blue whale found was 190 tons and measured 98 feet long. Their feeding habits are seasonal. In the Southern Hemisphere, the whales are often sighted in the Antarctic, and near Australia and New Zealand. A calf is fed by its mother for seven to eight months. The longest whale measured by scientists was 29.9 metres (98 ft) long. These inch-long, shrimp-like crustacean swim in swarms. In December 2015, a live blue whale thought to be over 20 metres (65 feet) long was rescued from a beach in Chile. The mortality rate of such attacks is unknown. Contextual information transmission (for example feeding, alarm, courtship), Maintenance of social organization (for example contact calls between females and males). Like all whales , it is a mammal . Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth.. Blue whales are baleen whales – a suborder of whales that can filter tiny organisms out of the sea with their bristly baleen mouth combs.. Twitter. Richardson et al. The front part of the mouth is thick with baleen plates; around 300 plates, each around one metre (3 ft) long, hang from the upper jaw, running 0.5 m (20 in) back into the mouth. Blue whale is the largest living mammal in the world ever known. The purpose of vocalization is unknown. This makes blue whales the largest animals ever to be on Earth, even bigger than the largest dinosaurs. Dive times are typically 10 minutes when feeding, though dives of up to 21 minutes are possible. Blue whales have a tiny, stubby dorsal fin set far back with a large, thick tail. The whales' only natural predator is the orca. What Animal Has The Highest Blood Pressure? B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. The head is flat, U-shaped and has a prominent ridge running from the blowhole to the top of the upper lip. Their voice is really very loud. Females give birth every two to three years to one calf. This page was last modified on 6 December 2020, at 21:46. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small krill. Dec 26, 2016 - Read a ton of fun blue whale facts for kids and get an in depth look into their lives where we explore how they live and what they do to survive. By comparison, one of the largest known dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era was Argentinosaurus, which is estimated to have weighed up to 90 tonnes (99 short tons), comparable to the average blue whale. Blue whales are thought to live to be about 110 years old. Blue whales are very skilled swimmers. In the Northern Hemisphere, whaling records show that males averaged 20–21 m (66–69 ft) and females 21–23 m (69–75 ft) at sexual maturity, while in the Southern Hemisphere it was 22.6 and 24 m (74 and 79 ft), respectively. Mating starts in late autumn and continues to the end of winter. They live in all the oceans around the globe and depending on the time of the … Antarctic blue whales gain 50% of their lean body weight in the summer feeding season, i.e. The blue whale has 55–70 grooves or pleats running from its throat to the middle of its body. They have the fastest maturity rate in the animal world as a blue whale gains approximately 200 pounds daily. Blue whale calves are the largest babies on Earth, and at birth they are already among the largest adult animals. Unlike toothed whales, the blue expels air through both blowholes at once – that’s the world’s largest pair of lungs emptying 90 per cent of their lung capacity. Eye. Some may have a uniform slate-grey color, but others demonstrate a considerable variation of dark blues, greys and blacks, all tightly mottled. Blue Whale Facts for Kids. It is a marine mammal and also one of the 15 species of baleen whales. Female blue whales give birth every three years to a baby blue whale called a calf. Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the only species from the genus Physeter that is alive today. Here we have some blue whale facts for kids. Despite being the largest living mammal in the world the blue whales primary diet consists almost exclusively of krill, a small oceanic creature that generally measure in at a measly 1-2 centimeters; although a few species of krill can grow close to 6 inches in size.. Learn more about whale conservation, their habitat, migration and … Many of the larger whales in the whaling records (especially those over 100 ft (30.5 m)) were probably measured incorrectly or even deliberately exaggerated. Facebook. They tend to swim relatively slowly, although they can reach speeds of over 30km/hr if they are forced to. The blue whale can take in up to 90 times as much energy as it expends, allowing it to build up considerable energy reserves. A 26.8 m (88 ft) male was verified by Japanese scientists in the 1947–48 whaling season. A 2002 report estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 blue whales worldwide, located in at least five groups. The first indication of the presence of a blue whale is the sight and sound of its huge blow, rising up to 10m straight into the sky. The Blue whale is the largest animal in the world. The average life expectancy of the blue whale is 80 to 100 years. They earn 90 Kg per day! Studies report that as many as 25% of mature blue whales have scars resulting from orca attacks. Two of the whale's bones were erected just off a main road on Lewis and remain a tourist attraction. A 30-metre blue whale, which may weigh as much as 135,000kg, can consume 2-7 tonnes of minuscule krill a day, rolling onto its side to take as much in as possible. Some estimate the world’s population to be lower than 1,200. It can be various shades of bluish-grey above and somewhat lighter underneath. This racing behavior may even escalate to physical violence between the males. A blue whale’s tongue weighs as much as an African forest elephant and its heart is at least the size … It is so huge that the weight of its tongue (5,400 pounds) is equal to that of an elephant. The calf is weaned after six months, by which time it has doubled in length. In the Antarctic summer, there are so many of these krill that they turn the waters orange. ReddIt. The degree of mottling varies substantially from individual to individual. The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived on Earth and is the largest mammal in the world. They have a splash guard in front of their two blowholes. There remain only much smaller (around 2,000) concentrations in each of the eastern North Pacific, Antarctic, and Indian Ocean groups. Usually they travel alone or in small groups of two to four, although off the coast of California some groups as large as 60 have been seen. Between 70 and 118 grooves (called ventral pleats) run along the throat parallel to the body length. This caused a considerable loss of blood and body fluids, estimated to be about 6% of the total weight. In June 2015, a female blue whale estimated at 12.2 meters (40 feet) and 20 tonnes (22 tons) was stranded on a beach in Maharashtra, India, the first live stranding in the region. In the 20th Century, the estimated total kill of blue whales was 350,000 animals and by the 1960s they were on the brink of extinction. Of the creatures that have inhabited the Earth, Blue Whales are the largest. Some populations may never recover. The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived. The blue whale is a baleen whale. When surfacing to breathe, the blue whale raises its shoulder and blowhole out of the water to a greater extent than other large whales, such as the fin or sei whales. Experts believe these deep rumblings may transmit between whales more than 65 miles apart. Blue whales live in every one of the oceans of the world. Three: B.m.brevicauda (smaller – lives in tropical areas of the Southern Hemisphere), B.m.intermedia (largest – lives in Southern Hemisphere), B.m.musculus (Northern Hemisphere). Despite efforts by the Albaug forest department and local fisherman, the whale died 10 hours after being stranded. Before whaling, the largest population was in the Antarctic, numbering approximately 239,000 (range 202,000 to 311,000). Blue whales typically swim at a depth of about 13 meters (42.5 feet) when migrating in order to eliminate drag from surface waves. Blue whales are massive in size with the average length ranging from 80 to 100 feet. In locations where there is a high concentration of food, as many as 50 blue whales have been seen scattered over a small area. Boats were used in all successful cases. There isn’t a single animal on Earth today that has … The blue whale is the biggest creature on earth. They can travel long distances in the sea uninterruptedly with the speed varying from 8km/h to 30 km/h, Blue whale is an animal with the long life cycle. Blue whales mate and give birth usually in the winter. The scientific name for the blue whale is the Balaenoptera muscolus. About every 10 to 20 minutes, it must come to the surface to breathe. They appear around 4,000 kg with a length of about 8 meters. I would love to see a blue whale sometime before I die! Size difference between a blue whale and a person. Blue whales are a grey/blue color and are mottled with lighter spots. Commanding awe, they gr… They were never weighed whole, but cut into blocks 0.5–0.6 meters (1.6–2 ft) across and weighed by parts. In 1920, a blue whale washed up near Bragar on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth . Gestation is 10 to 12 months; average calf is 23 feet long and weighs 4,440 pounds. The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal of the suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti). Its lung capacity is 5,000 litres (1,300 US gal). The species of this zooplankton eaten by blue whales varies from ocean to ocean. Choosing the Best Small Pet Snakes for Beginners. 8. Out of 73 species of toothed whales, the sperm whale is by far the largest of all. Pygmy blue whales average 19.2 meters (63 feet) at sexual maturity, with males averaging 21 meters and females 22 meters (69 and 72 feet) when fully grown, averaging 76 and 90 tonnes (83.5 and 99 tons). This often causes the racing whales to breach, which is rare in blue whales. Imagine a creature the size of 2 1/2 school buses laid end-to-end and you'll get a sense of the size of the blue whale. Blue whales can reach speeds of 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) over short bursts, usually when interacting with other whales, but 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) is a more typical traveling speed. [5] There are at least three distinct subspecies : B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale ) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean . Blue whales used to be one of the most common whales in the oceans, now they’re one of the rarest (so much so that we don’t even know how they mate) because they were over-hunted. Females are generally a few feet longer than males. The heaviest weight ever reported was 173 metric tons (191 short tons), for a southern hemisphere female in 1947, although it is likely that the largest blue whales would have weighed over 200 short tons (181 t). Blue whales are found in all the oceans of the world, although there are three main populations: one in the North Atlantic, one in the North Pacific and another in the southern hemisphere, particularly above Antarctica. The weight of an average blue whale tongue is … Even more, it is the largest animal that has ever existed, even larger than the largest dinosour ever found. Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball. During the first seven months of its life, a blue whale calf drinks approximately 380 litres (100 US gal) of milk every day. This Marine vertebrate can be found in practically all pieces of the sea. Little is known about mating behaviour or breeding grounds. 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