Blue whales fun facts you must know

Blue whales are biggest mammals in the world - Blue whales fun facts you must know

Blue whales image credit : pixabay

Blue whales are the biggest creatures that have ever lived on Earth. They eat nearly entirely krill and strain massive amounts of ocean water through their baleen plates (which hang from the roof of the mouth and work like a sieve). Some of the largest individuals may consume up to 6 tons of krill each day.

Except for the Arctic Ocean, blue whales may be found in all oceans. Blue whales are divided into five subspecies that are currently recognized.

Blue whale numbers are only a small fraction of what they were before contemporary commercial whaling drastically decreased their numbers in the early 1900s, but populations are growing internationally. Blue whales are now threatened mostly by vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.

Commercial whaling has drastically reduced blue whale populations across the world. Blue whales are now protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The most recent blue whale stock assessment reports provide data for a variety of stocks, including those in the North Pacific and western North Atlantic Oceans.

Blue whales interesting facts

1. The world's biggest mammals are Blue whales. Blue whales can be grown maximum lengths of 33.5 m (110 feet) and weights of 330,000 pounds (150 metric tons).

2. Blue whales may live for an average of 80 to 90 years.

3. Blue whales are the world's loudest creatures, with noises that may be heard by other blue whales up to 1,000 miles away.

4. Blue whales may consume up to 12,000 pounds of krill (5.4 metric tons) in a single day.

5. Blue whales swim at a rate of 5 miles per hour on average, but may reach speeds of more than 20 miles per hour in brief bursts.

Blue whales weight and appearance

Blue whales have a long and thin body form. The blue whale gets its name from its mottled blue-gray appearance, which appears pale blue beneath water. The mottling pattern varies and can be used to classify individuals.

Antarctic blue whales are usually bigger than other subspecies of blue whales. Blue whales, for example, may grow to be approximately 90 feet long and weigh more than 100,000 pounds in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, but in the Antarctic, they can grow to be around 110 feet long and weigh more than 330,000 pounds. Female blue whales, like many other baleen whales, are usually bigger than males.

Size blue whales heart

The blue whale has a heart the size is approximately similar to the size of a Volkswagen Beetle car.

Blue whales lifespan

Usually blue whales can live average 80-90 years

Blue whales have an estimated lifetime of 80 to 90 years. Scientists may determine whale ages by measuring the layers of wax-like earplugs acquired from deceased animals.

 Blue Whale’s gestation period

10-12 months.

Scientists know very little about the blue whale's life history. According to the current understanding, the gestation duration is between 10 and 12 months. Weaning is more likely to occur at 6 to 7 months on or near summer feeding areas. Sexual maturity is considered to occur between the ages of 5 to 15 years. The majority of reproductive activity, including birth and mating, occurs during the winter. The typical calving interval is likely to be 2 to 3 years.

Whale’s population in 2020

5000-15000 mature individuals

What blue whales eat / what blue whales feeding / blue whales diet

The favorite food of blue whales is krill—they are small shrimp-like animals—but fish and copepods (little crustaceans) may be consumed on occasion. Blue whales filter feed by swimming up to large schools of krill with their mouths open, closing their lips around the krill, and inflating their neck pleats. Blue whales utilize their tongue to squeeze trapped water out of their mouths, while their baleen plates retain the krill within.

How long blue whales are swims and swimming speed and behavior

Blue whales may swim in small groups, although they are most commonly seen alone or in pairs. They spend the summers eating in arctic waters and then make long migrations to tropical seas as seasons change to winter.

When eating and traveling Blue whales generally swim at speed around 5 miles per hour, but they may reach speeds of more than 20 miles per hour in brief bursts. They are among the loudest mammals on the world, releasing a sequence of pulses, groans, and moans, and it is thought that noises generated by blue whales may be heard by other whales up to 1,000 miles distant in the appropriate oceanographic circumstances.

Where you can see blue whales?

Except for the Arctic, blue whales may be found in all oceans. They typically move periodically between summer feeding grounds and winter breeding sites, although research shows that individuals in some regions may not migrate at all. Information on distribution and mobility vary by area, and migratory pathways are remaining unclear. In general, distribution is primarily determined by food availability—they exist in areas where krill concentrations are high.

Their range in the North Atlantic Ocean stretches from the subtropics to the Greenland Sea. Blue whales have been spotted in the seas off eastern Canada and the eastern United States' shelf waters.

Eastern North Pacific blue whales are thought to spend the winter off of Mexico and Central America off the West Coast of the United States. They are most likely to feed in the summer off the West Coast of the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the Gulf of Alaska and the central North Pacific.

From December through March, blue whales with young calves can be seen in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). This is thought to be a key calving and nursing habitat for the species.

There is a population in the northern Indian Ocean they are called as "resident population”. Stranding, Sightings and acoustic detections of blue whales have been recorded from the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal. These whales' migratory patterns are mainly unknown; however they may be influenced by oceanographic changes associated with monsoons.

Who are the blue whales ancestors?

Hippos are whales' closest living relative, although they are not whales' ancestors. Hippos and whales both evolved from four-legged, even-toed, hoofed (ungulate) ancestors who lived on land some 50 million years ago. Ugulates in the modern era include the hippopotamus, giraffe, deer, pig, and cow. Whale ancestors, migrated to the sea and developed into swimming creatures over a period of roughly 8 million years unlike the hippo's ancestor,

Fossils of massive prehistoric whales known as Basilosaurus were initially misidentified as dinosaur fossils before being identified as mammals. These prehistoric whales were longer and had smaller back legs and front flippers than current whales. Their nostrils were located midway between the tip of the snout and the forehead, and they possessed ear bones similar to those found in contemporary whales. Basilosaurus is a transitional form between whales and their terrestrial ungulate relatives. 

Here is a interesting video clip