Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the
largest animal known to man .It is a marine mammal belonging to the BALEEN
WHALE PARVORDER, They can grow to about 30meters plus / 98 – 100 foots (same length as a 10 story building ) and can weigh about 200 tons. Blue whales can live for an average of 80-90 years but can also live for 110 years (the longest we have recorded).
POPULATION:
According to the IUCN, there is a population of
10,000 – 25,000 blue whales today but are still listed as endangered species.
ATTITUDE:
Blue whales have one of the loudest sound waves measuring about 188 decibels, the blue whales sound surpasses that of a jet engine at 140 decibels, this sounds are used to communicate between themselves (as we don't understand their communication frequency ) and this waves can travel for as far as 500 miles. Despite its humongous size, blue whales do not or
attack people. They do not have teethes so they lack the ability to tear apart
their prey, so it’s impossible to eat humans, besides an accidental collision.
Blue whales prefers deep ocean waters rather than coastal waters (fair enough judging from their size).
FOOD:
Blue whales feed through their baleen plates. Their primary food consist of Krill , small crustaceans which are found in all the world's oceans.
and Copepods
Blue whales can consume about four (4) tons of KRILL per day (for reference that's more than the weight of some African elephants). Due to the gulping feeding nature of the blue whale, they consume large amount of water along with the krill but they have a special filtration mechanism in the form of the Baleen Bristles. The baleen bristles is like a multi-comb structure inside the whales mouth and is made up of "Keratin" which is the same element found in the human finger nails, this bristles helps the whale in the separation of krill from water and the water is then poured back out of the mouth.
Threats:
Only an iron attacks an iron, so the only predators they face are HUMANS, killer whale from the ( oceanic dolphin family) and climate change leading to warmer water temperature, habitat loss, decrease in food availability, abnormal change in seasons and toxic water that may be caused by pollution.
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