blue whale.doc

Blue whaleBlue whales are the largest animals ever to have lived - bigger even than the largest of the dinosaurs. These jumbo-jet-sized giants inhabit the open ocean, where they are found most frequently along the continental shelf edges and near polar ice. A single calf is produced every two to three years, and from birth each calf consumes up to 50 gallons of milk every single day, leading to a colossal weight gain of 90 kilograms per day in its first year of life. Did you know?A blue whales blood vessels are wide enough for a human to swim through. BlueWhaleWithCalfThe blow of a blue whaleThe small dorsal fin of this blue whale is just visible on the far left.The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived.22 By comparison, the largest known dinosaur of the Mesozoic Era was Argentinosaurus,24 which is estimated to have weighed up to 90 metric tons (99 short tons).Blue whales are difficult to weigh because of their size. As is the case with most large whales targeted by whalers, adult blue whales have never been weighed whole, but cut up into manageable pieces first. This caused an underestimate of the total weight of the whale, due to the loss of blood and other fluids. As a whole, blue whales from the Northern Atlantic and Pacific appear to be smaller on average than those from sub-Antarctic waters. Nevertheless, measurements between 150170 metric tons (170190 short tons) were recorded of animals up to 27 metres (89ft) in length. The weight of an individual 30 metres (98ft) long is believed by the American National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) to be in excess of 180 metric tons (200 short tons). The largest blue whale accurately weighed by NMML scientists to date was a female that weighed 177 metric tons (195 short tons).9