Blue Whales

The heart of a blue whale is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and pumps 10 tons of blood around the body. A blue whale aorta is enough for a human to crawl through. Blue whales spouts are made of water and air and rise about 30 ft into the air.

The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to a group of whales called baleens. They are the largest animals that live on earth. Blue whales live in the open ocean and are found near continental shelf edges and polar ices. Blue whales produce a single calf every 2-3 years and from birth a calf will consume 50 gallons of milk per day. At the end of one year the calf will weigh 90 kilograms.

The open ocean is the top layer of the ocean beyond the continental shelves. It covers 360 ,000,000 square kilometers of the earths' surface. It is known as the "marine desert" , as life can be scarce and nutrients are fewer than in the shallow waters. Open ocean predators have to travel far and fast to find food, this is why marine life such as dolphins are swift swimmers.
Whales , dolphins and porpoises all belong to a group of animals called Cetacean . These aquatic animals have streamlined bodies that are suitable for swimming.

Blue whales can grow to be 100 ft in length and can weigh up to 160 tons. They have a mottled bluish grey coloring with flat heads and a small dorsal fin located in the last fourth of the body. New born blue whales are about 7 meters and weigh approximately 30 tons. They can gain 200 pounds per day.



It is not known exactly how many blue whales exist however  they are considered endangered according to  the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Blue whales have been severely hunted for their large supplies of baleen , rubber and meat. Although they are protected the  species does not seem to be improving.

Blue whales most likely have very good hearing especially at low frequencies deep in the ocean where there is no light and sight is useless.
Blue whales filter their food through their baleen plates. Blue whales eat krill (euphausiids) and copepods.  A blue whale can eat up to 8,000 lbs. of krill during its peak consumption period. It is estimated to take 2,200 lbs. of food to fill a blue whale's stomach.