The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest marine mammal. Its large proportions make this animal considered the largest mammal on the planet.
Experts say that if it were a terrestrial animal, the blue whale would not support its own weight. By comparison, the African elephant is regarded as one of the largest land animals, weighing around 13 tonnes, while the blue whale has an average of 200 tonnes.
It is because of the density of the water and the diversity of food resources that contribute for this whale species to survive and grow in a healthy way.
Blue Whale General Characteristics
The blue whale is a mammal which is about 30 meters long and can weigh up to 200 tons.
In the head part is located the mouth, which has the largest bone in the world, measuring 7 meters. In addition, it has keratin sheets that allow the swallowed water to flow out, retaining only the food.
Its mouth also has ventral folds that expand the crop and allow it to hold more water and food.
The fins help in swimming and measure about 12% of the body's length. The strong rib bones help the body support the blue whale's weight and movement.
In the back of the blue whale's body are small bones that researchers say are vestiges of the hind legs of the quadrupeds that gave rise to the whale.
Blue Whale Feeding
The blue whale is a species of the suborder Mysticite and they don't have teeth, so their diet is based on small crustaceans, known as krill.
To meet the body's needs, it is estimated that each blue whale consumes approximately 4 tons of krill per day.
The blue whale swims with its mouth open to suck in the krill, which gets trapped in the fins and side creases of its mouth.
Blue Whale Breeding
The blue whale is a marine mammal that breeds in warmer waters and gestation lasts about a year.
The puppy is born measuring 7 to 8 meters in length and thinking on average 3 tons. In the first days of life, the puppy consumes approximately 130 liters of breast milk per day, making it gain up to 90 kg per day in the first months.
The time between one pregnancy and another is usually every 2 or 3 years, approximately. However, due to hunting, this time is estimated to be decreasing in order to keep the population in balance.
Geographical distribution of the blue whale
The blue whale is a species that tends to migrate between the oceans according to its purpose, making it an animal that has a wide geographic distribution.
In general, they tend to focus on the seas of Antarctica and in the northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The migration process to the poles usually occurs in the middle of the year, which is when they swim towards the colder waters, such as Antarctica and the North Pacific. At the end of the year, they usually swim to tropical regions, which have milder temperatures for breeding.
Blue whale extinction risk
The blue whale is one of the endangered species, especially due to the killing of the species in the 1930s, when it is estimated that more than 29,000 blue whales were killed.
Over time, there is a period of about 150 years of intense hunting of the blue whale, which existed in great abundance until the beginning of the 20th century. To avoid the extinction of the species, hunting was banned in 1966.
Another factor that contributes to the decrease of the species is related to the water pollution and to global warming, which has been interfering with the quality and temperature of the water.
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