Their blow is a single stream that rises 40-50 feet (12-15 m) above the surface of the water.īlue whales are very fast swimmers they normally swim 3-20 mph (4.8-32 kph), but can go up to 24-30 mph (38-48 kph) in bursts when in danger. They spout (breathe) about 1-4 times per minute at rest, and 5-12 times per minutes after a deep dive. They frequently swim in pairs.īlue whales can dive for up to an hour, going to a depth of 350 feet (105 m).īlue whales breathe air at the surface of the water through 2 blowholes located near the top of the head. The tongue weighs 4 tons (3.8 tonnes).Īn average-sized blue whale will eat 2,000-9,000 pounds (900-4100 kg) of plankton each day during the summer feeding season in cold, arctic waters ( about 120 days).īlue whales live individually or in very small pods (groups). They are about 39 inches long (1 m), 21 inches wide (53 cm), and weigh 200 pounds (90 kg). The blue whale has about 320 pairs of black baleen plates with dark gray bristles in the blue whale's jaws. The baleen catches the food, acting like a sieve. The water is then forced through the baleen plates hanging from the upper jaw. 50 to 70 throat pleats allow the throat to expand a great deal, forming a gular pouch. They are gulpers, filter feeders that alternatively swim then gulp a mouthful of plankton or fish - they lunge into dense groups of small sea organisms (krill or tiny fish) with an open mouth. Blue whales have long, thin flippers 8 feet long (2.4 m) and flukes that are 25 feet (7.6 m) wide.īlue whales (like all baleen whales) are seasonal feeders and carnivores that filter feed tiny crustaceans ( krill, copepods, etc.), plankton, and small fish from the water. They have a very small, falcate (sickle-shaped) dorsal fin that is located near the flukes (tail). During the winter in cold waters, diatoms stick to the underbelly, giving it a yellow to silver- to sulfur-colored sheen they are sometimes called "sulfur bottom." The underbelly has brown, yellow, or gray specks. The blue whale's skin is usually blue-gray with white-gray spots. The blue whale is louder than a jet, which reaches only 140 decibels! Human shouting is 70 decibels sounds over 120 decibels are painful to human ears.Ĭlick here to hear a blue whale call (recorded by the NOAA). This low-frequency whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles. A human could crawl through the aorta (a major blood vessel).Ī Comparison of the Size of the Blue Whale and Other Interesting Animalsīlue whales are the loudest animals on Earth! Their call reaches levels up to 188 decibels. The heart is about the size of a Volkswagon bug car. The largest of the blue whales (150 tons) has a heart that weighs about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) and has 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg) of blood circulating in its body. The females are larger than males, as with all baleen whales. The largest specimen found was a female 94 feet (29 m) long weighing more 174 tons (158 tonnes). Blue whales have 50-70 throat grooves that run from the throat to mid-body.īlue whales grow to be about 80 feet (25 m) long on average, weighing about 120 tons (109 tonnes). These gray-blue whales have 2 blowholes and a 2-14 inch (5-30 cm) thick layer of blubber.īlue whales are rorqual whales, whales that have pleated throat grooves that allow their throat to expand during the huge intake of water during filter feeding. These enormous mammals eat tiny organisms, like plankton and krill, which they sieve through baleen. The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived on Earth. Today's featured page: Fish Paper Plate Craft is a user-supported site.Īs a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.
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