10 interesting facts about blue whales

The blue whale, the largest of all animals, is a marine mammal found in almost all ocean waters. Blue whales’ size is something that is hard to believe. However, size is not the only extraordinary thing about it. This article lists 10 interesting facts about blue whales, some will get your imagination going.

A blue whale
Image by Welcome to all and thank you for your visit ! ツ from Pixabay

10 interesting facts about blue whales

The blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived

No animal of the past or present was/is as large as a full-grown blue whale. Even the biggest dinosaurs were half as heavy as a blue whale. Large adults can weigh more than 150 tonnes and be more than 25 m long. Females are a little longer than males. However, males are heavier than females of the same length.

There are 3 recognized subspecies of Blue whale

Speed

Blue whales are observed to reach a surprising speed of 50 km/hr (31 mph). However, they typically swim at a speed of around 20 km/hr (12 mph).

They are loud

Blue Whales make high-decibel sounds in the range of 155-188 dB (a car horn is around 110 dB). Their frequency range is 10-40 Hz. Some researchers believe that the sound of a blue whale can be heard by other blue whales from as long as 1,600 kilometers (994 miles).

Blue whales live long

Blue whales typically live for 80–90 years in the wild. Some, however, can live over 100 years.

They have big hearts and tongue

A blue whale’s heart can weigh more than 180 kilograms and its tongue can weigh as much as an elephant.

They cannot eat big food

Blue whales only eat Krill and some small fish. They cannot eat big foods as their esophagus is pretty small relative to their size.

They eat a lot…understandably so

Baleen plate
A baleen plate

Blue whales can eat more than 3 tonnes of krill in a single day. Interestingly, they do not have teeth. Instead, they have baleen plates. While feeding, a large amount of water enters the whale’s mouth along with the prey. Water is then pushed out through baleen plates while the prey gets stuck, which is then swallowed with the help of the tongue.

New born blue whales weigh more than an Indian rhino

A newborn calf may weigh up to 2,700 kilograms and gain weight at an unbelievably fast pace of 90 kilograms per day.

They are threatened species

Blue whales are marked endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). There are approximately 10000-25000 blue whales alive today. In the early 1900s, the hunting of whales known as whaling was a popular industry.
During the whaling era, the blue whale population came very close to extinction in many areas. After an international ban on hunting blue whales, their population is now on the rise.

IUCN conservation status
IUCN conservation status

Blue whale conservation status: Endangered (EN)

Did you know: Longest recorded blue whale’s size was 33.6 meters.


Read more

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top