The largest blue whale. Animal blue whale description. Features of blue whale migration

“Sea monster” is the Greek word κῆτος (whale), applied to all cetaceans except porpoises and dolphins. But, answering the question "how much does a whale weigh", one cannot do without dolphins. In this family, there is a monster heavier than many real whales - a killer whale.

Whale weight by species

Whales deservedly bear the title of the heaviest animals, both terrestrial and aquatic.. The cetacean order consists of 3 suborders, one of which (ancient whales) has already disappeared from the face of the Earth. The other two suborders are toothed and baleen whales, which are distinguished by the structure of the mouth apparatus and the type of food closely associated with it. The oral cavity of toothed whales is equipped, as it is logical to assume, with teeth, which allows them to hunt big fish and squid.

On average, toothed whales are inferior in size to representatives of the baleen suborder, but among these carnivores there are amazing heavyweights:

• sperm whale - up to 70 tons;
• northern floating fish - 11–15 tons;
• narwhal - females up to 0.9 tons, males at least 2-3 tons (where a third of the weight is fat);
• white whale (beluga whale) - 2 tons;
• pygmy sperm whale - from 0.3 to 0.4 tons.

Important! Porpoises stand somewhat apart: although they are included in the suborder of toothed whales, in a strict classification they do not belong to whales, but to cetaceans. Porpoises weigh about 120 kg.

Now let's look at dolphins, which pedantic ketologists also deny the right to be called true whales, allowing them to be called cetaceans in the group of toothed whales (!).

Whale weight at birth

When born, a blue whale calf weighs 2–3 tons with a body length of 6–9 meters. Every day, due to the exceptional fat content of mother's milk (40–50%), he becomes heavier by 50 kg, drinking more than 90 liters of a valuable product per day. The cub does not come off the mother's breast for 7 months, gaining 23 tons by this age.

Important! By the time of the transition to self-feeding, the young whale grows up to 16 m, and by its one and a half years, the 20-meter "baby" already weighs 45-50 tons. He will approach adult weight and height no earlier than 4.5 years, when he himself becomes able to reproduce offspring.

Only a little behind the newborn blue whale is the baby fin whale, which at birth weighs 1.8 tons and is 6.5 meters long. The female feeds him with milk for six months, until the child doubles its height..

Several tens of thousands of animal species live on our planet, but only a few of them possess. Animals live everywhere: on land, in the air, underground, and in water. We will stop at the last place of residence of living beings. Since childhood, everyone knows that whales are the largest animals living in the aquatic environment. But few people realize that among them there are also incomparable giants. We present to the reader's attention information about which are the largest whales in the world.

10. Minke minke | Length 10.7 meters

The top of the largest whales in the world is opened by the smallest whale from the minke whale family. An animal that feeds on plankton and small fish, has white fins and belly, and a dark gray upper body color. A distinctive feature of the minke whale is its white stripes on the back of the head.

It lives in the waters of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The length of the largest individual reached 10.7 meters.

The leader in the number of minke whales caught annually is the "Land of the Rising Sun" - Japan. Whaling is about 900 individuals. Norway and Iceland are in second and third places, respectively.

9. Northern right whale | Length 13-17 meters

The speed of movement of the whale is no more than 8 km / h. As a result, it becomes easy prey for humans. It is currently on the verge of extinction. The number of surviving whales does not exceed 300 individuals.

8. Humpback whale | Length 17-18 meters

Another animal in our ranking of the largest whales in the world, from the minke whale family. It got its name because of the dorsal fin in the form of a hump. The largest individuals of this species of animals reach a size of 17-18 meters. Weight does not exceed 50 tons. The whale has a specific body shape and coloration, very long pectoral fins (30% of the total body), and a large caudal fin. The species is distributed throughout the world's oceans, except for the Arctic. In Russia, it is found only in a small part of the Barents Sea.

7. Southern right whale | Length 18 meters

Another species of the family of smooth whales. Animals measuring 18 meters and weighing up to 80 tons have a color that varies from dark brown to blue-black. A distinctive feature of southern whales are growths under the jaw and above the eyes. The head size is 1/3 of the body size. The dorsal fin is missing. The females of the southern right whale are physically larger than the males.

Animals that are one of the largest whales in the world live in the Southern Ocean (temperate and subpolar latitudes).

For a long time this species was under threat, but, at present, the number of individuals exceeds more than 7,000.

6. Japanese whale | Length 19 meters

This species of whale is not much different from the smooth North Atlantic, but it is larger. Particularly large individuals reach a size of 19 m. The weight of a Japanese whale does not exceed 80 tons. Black individuals with a small dorsal fin feed on crustaceans. They swim slowly, but like to jump out of the water often. The birth rate of the Japanese whale is low. Females give birth to one cub every three to four years. At the same time, they themselves must reach the age of 6-12 years. They live in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, sometimes they are found off the coast of Mexico. Now the Japanese whale is under the threat of extinction. There are 400 individuals of this species of one of the largest animals in the world left on the planet.

5. Sperm Whale | Length 20 meters

Sperm whales live in groups of several dozen individuals. This species of mammal has pronounced sexual dimorphism, that is, females are smaller and differ in the shape of the body and head. The largest individuals of males reach a length of 20 meters and weigh 50 tons. Females - 15 meters, 20 tons.

The habitat of the sperm whale is distributed throughout the oceans, with the exception of the coldest areas.

4. Seyval | Length 20 meters

An individual, reaching a length of 20 meters and a mass of 30 tons, belongs to the family of minke whales. A dark gray whale with a large dorsal fin feeds on mollusks, fish that gather in schools, and crustaceans. Seiwal has been living for over 60 years. Puberty occurs at 5-7 years of age. Develops a speed of more than 25 km / h. Habitat: the entire World Ocean in places with temperatures above 8 degrees, but below 26. In Russia, this species of one of the largest whales in the world can be found near the Kuril Islands and in the Barents Sea (rarely).

3. Bowhead whale | Length 18-22 meters

The hardest whale in the world lives in the polar regions of the Arctic and off the coast of Greenland. It has a size of 18-22 meters and a body weight of 75 to 150 tons, depending on the sex of the animal. The mammal accelerates to a speed of 20 km / h. It dives to a depth of over 200 meters and can stay there for up to 40 minutes.

Lives for about 40 years. Some individuals can exist for more than 100 years. The record lifespan for the bowhead whale was 211 years. The animal, located on the third line of the top of the largest whales in the world, feeds on plankton and crustaceans.

2. Fin whale | Length 27 meters

It is the second largest animal in the world and the closest relative of the blue whale. The species that lives in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres belongs to the minke family. The maximum length of an adult reaches 27 meters. The size of females is larger than the size of males, but their weight is approximately the same - 40-70 tons.

An animal with a dark gray back and a white belly, prefers to live alone. But, sometimes it strays into flocks of up to 5-6 individuals. It is considered the fastest whale in the world. Its speed reaches 50 km/h. It dives to a maximum depth of 230 meters.

1. Blue whale | Length 33 meters

Blue whales live alone. Sometimes they stray into small groups, but even in them they swim separately from each other. They live throughout the oceans. On average, blue whales live for about 80 years. The oldest officially recorded age of an animal was 110 years. Currently, the blue whale is on the verge of extinction. And in the 60s of the last century it was practically exterminated. Scientists are doing everything possible to increase the population. Now the number of mammals is 10,000 individuals.

Our world is truly amazing. It is full of beings big and small, low and high. Today we bring you an unusually interesting selection. It contains photographs of the fifteen largest animals in the world, broken down into various categories such as mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, etc. Some of these animals are real giants!

1. The largest animal in the world is the blue (or blue) whale.
The blue whale, also called the blue whale or the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), is a marine mammal that belongs to the order Cetacea to the suborder Baleen whales. At 30 meters (98 feet) long and 180 metric tons or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever lived on our planet. The tongue of a blue whale can weigh up to about 2.7 tons (5,952 pounds), which is about the weight of a medium-sized Asian elephant. The blue whale's heart weighs about 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) and is the largest such organ of any living creature. The heart of a blue whale is not only the size of a small car, but it also weighs about the same as the mentioned car. And the lung capacity of a blue whale exceeds 3,000 liters.

2. The blue whale is thought to feed almost exclusively on small shrimp-like creatures known as krill.

3. The basis of the diet of the blue whale is plankton. Thanks to their filtering apparatus, which consists of baleen plates, the blue whale can consume a whopping 3.6 metric tons (7,900 pounds) or more daily during the summer months.

4. This means that it can eat up to 40 million krill per day, while the daily calorie requirement of an adult blue whale is in the region of 1.5 million. kcal.

6. The largest land animal in the world: African elephant. The African elephant is the largest land animal. Male African elephants reach 6 to 7.5 meters (19.7 to 24.6 ft) in length, 3.3 m (10.8 ft) high at the withers, and can weigh up to 6 tons (13,000 lb). Female African elephants are much smaller, averaging 5.4 to 6.9 m (17.7 to 22.6 ft) long, 2.7 meters (8.9 ft) high at the withers, and weighing up to reach 3 tons (6600 pounds). Adult African elephants generally have no enemies in their natural habitat due to their extremely large size, but baby elephants (especially newborns) are one of the favorite prey species for bloodthirsty attacks by lions or crocodiles, and are also often attacked by leopards or hyenas. According to the latest data, in the wild, the population of African elephants ranges from 500 to 600 thousand individuals.

7. The tallest land animal in the world: the giraffe.

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African mammal from the artiodactyl order of the giraffidae family. It is the tallest land animal in the world. its height averages 5–6 meters (16–20 ft). Male giraffes have an average weight of 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb), while females can weigh around 830 kilograms (1,800 lb). A distinguishing characteristic of the giraffe is its very long neck, which can reach over 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) in length. Actually, the neck accounts for almost half of the vertical height of the animal. The long neck is the result of a disproportionate elongation of the cervical vertebrae, and not an increase in the number of vertebrae, of which the giraffe, like almost all other mammals, has only seven.

8. The largest predator in the world: the southern elephant seal.
The southern elephant seal is the largest carnivore on our planet. The size of the southern elephant seal is evidence of extreme sexual dimorphism, the most significant of any mammal, as male southern elephant seals are typically five to six times heavier than females. While females can average 400 to 900 kilograms (880 to 2,000 lb) and be 2.6 to 3 meters (8.5 to 9.8 ft) long, southern elephant seal males average approximately 2,200 to 4,000 kg (4,900 to 8,800 lb) and can reach 4.5 to 5.8 meters (15 to 19 ft) in length. The record-breaking southern elephant seal, shot at Possession Bay, South Georgia on February 28, 1913, measured 6.85 meters (22.5 feet) in length and is estimated to have weighed approximately 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds).
Southern seamen can dive multiple times while hunting, staying underwater for more than twenty minutes each time, tracking their prey, squid and fish, at depths of 400 to 1,000 meters (1,300 to 3,300 ft). The documented record for the longest time underwater for a juvenile elephant seal was approximately two hours. The maximum depth to which southern elephant seals can dive is over 1,400 meters (4,600 ft).

9. The largest land predator in the world: Polar bear and Kodiak bear.

The world's largest terrestrial predators are the white polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and the Kodiak brown bear (Ursus arctos). If everything is more or less clear with the white polar bear, then the Kodiak bear is less known.

10. Kodiak is a subspecies of brown bears that are found on Kodiak Island and other islands of the Kodiak archipelago off the southern coast of Alaska. Since the polar polar bear and the Kodiak brown bear have approximately the same body size, it is not clear which of them actually ranks first in size. In both species, the height at the withers is over 1.6 meters (5.2 ft), and the total body length can reach 3.05 m (10.0 ft). The absolute weight records for a polar bear and a brown bear were 1,003 kg (2,210 lb) and 1,135 kg (2,500 lb), respectively.

11. The largest reptile in the world: Saltwater (combed or spongy) crocodile.
The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest living reptile in the world. The habitat of combed crocodiles is from Northern Australia to Southeast Asia and the east coast of India. An adult male saltwater crocodile can weigh between 409 and 1,000 kilograms (900–2,200 lb) and is typically 4.1 to 5.5 meters (13–18 ft) long. However, males can exceed 6 meters (20 ft) in length and sometimes weigh over 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). Saltwater crocodile is the only crocodile species that regularly reaches or exceeds 4.8 m (16 ft) in length. The saltwater crocodile is an active predator that feeds mainly on insects, molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, small reptiles and fish. However, it attacks almost any animal that is in its territory, either in water or on land. The crocodile always drags the victim, which he watches over on land, into the water, where it is more difficult for her to resist him.

12. The largest amphibian in the world: the Chinese giant salamander.
The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest salamander in the world. Individual individuals of the Chinese giant salamander can reach a length of 180 centimeters (6 feet), although at present such giants are extremely rare. This species is endemic to mountain rivers and lakes in China. One of the conditions necessary for the survival of the Chinese giant salamander is clean and very cold water.

13. To date, this species is considered endangered due to habitat destruction, pollution and targeted destruction, since the meat of the giant amphibian is considered a delicacy and is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

14. Largest rabbit / hare in the world: "Belgian flandre". The Belgian Flemish is an ancient breed of domesticated rabbit that originates from the Flemish region.

15. They were first bred back in the sixteenth century in the vicinity of the city of Ghent, Belgium. Belgian Flemish rabbits can weigh up to 12.7 kilograms (28 pounds).

16. The largest bat in the world: the giant golden flying fox. In the photo: a giant golden flying fox. Spectacled flying fox.

The largest of all bat species is the giant golden flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), an endangered bat species from the rainforests of the Philippines, which is part of the fruit bat family. The basis of the diet of giant golden flying foxes is fruits. The maximum weight of giant golden flying foxes can be 1.5 kg (3.3 lb), they can be up to 55 centimeters (22 in) long, and their wingspan can be nearly 1.8 meters (5.9 ft). The giant flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus) is inferior to the golden flying fox in terms of body weight and length, but is ahead of it in wingspan. Scientists have recorded individuals with a wingspan ranging from 1.83 meters (6.0 feet) to 2 meters (6.6 feet).

17. The largest rodent in the world: capybara.
The largest of the existing rodents is the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), a species that is found along the shores of various reservoirs in tropical and temperate parts of Central and South America, east of the Andes - from Panama to Uruguay to northeast Argentina. One of the main conditions for the existence of capybaras is the presence of a nearby reservoir.

18. The largest specimens of capybaras can reach 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length and 0.9 meters (3.0 feet) in height at the withers. They can weigh up to 105.4 kg (232 lb). This is a very active species. Capybaras are social animals that live in groups of up to a hundred individuals, but the average number of one colony is 10-20 individuals on average.

19. Largest bony fish in the world: common moonfish (sunfish, headfish).

Osteichthyes, also called "bony fish", are a taxonomic group of fish that have bony, not cartilaginous, skeletons. The vast majority of fish belong to the species Osteichthyes. This is an extremely diverse and numerous group, which consists of more than 29,000 species. This is the most numerous class of vertebrates that currently exists.

20. The largest representative of bony fish is the widespread common moonfish (sunfish, fishhead) or Mola Mola. She has an extremely strange body shape - it is laterally compressed, very high and short, which gives the fish an outlandish appearance and a shape similar to a disk. In fact, it does not have a body as such - a sunfish is literally a "head with a tail." A mature Common Fishhead has an average length of 1.8 meters (5.9 ft), width from fin to fin up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft), and an average weight of 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). However, scientists have recorded individuals that can be up to 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) long and 4.2 meters (14 feet) across. The weight of such giants can reach 2,300 kilograms (5,100 pounds).

21. Largest lizard/snake in the world: giant green anaconda.

The giant anaconda, sometimes also called the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), is a species of snake in the boa subfamily. It lives in the tropical part of South America east of the Andes, Paraguay, Northern Bolivia, French Guiana. The maximum recorded body length is 7.5 meters (25 feet), and the maximum recorded weight reaches 250 kilograms (550 pounds), although there are rumors of much larger green anacondas. The reticulated python (Python reticulatus) from Southeast Asia is longer in body length but thinner, and members of this species have been reported to reach a maximum of 9.7 meters (32 ft) in length.

22. The world's largest bird: ostrich.

The ostrich, the largest bird on our planet (Struthio camelus), is found on the plains of Africa and Arabia. The scientific name of the ostrich in Greek means "camel sparrow". A large male ostrich can reach a height of 2.8 meters (9.2 feet), and weigh over 156 kilograms (345 pounds). Ostrich eggs can weigh up to 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds) and are the largest bird eggs in the world today. Ostriches can run at a top speed of up to 97.5 km/h (60.6 mph), making the ostrich the fastest bird on earth and the fastest bipedal creature in the world.

The Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is a member of the Pelican family. The habitat of curly pelicans is a significant area from Southeast Europe to India and China. Dalmatian pelicans inhabit swamps and shallow lakes. It is the largest of the pelicans, averaging 160-180 centimeters (63-70 inches) in length, and weighing 11-15 kilograms (24-33 pounds). The wingspan of the curly pelican is just over 3 meters (10 ft). An average weight of 11.5 kilograms (25 lb) makes the Dalmatian Pelican the heaviest flying bird. Although a large male bustard or swan may exceed the pelican in maximum weight.

24. The largest arthropod in the world: Japanese spider crab.

The Japanese spider crab is a type of sea crab that lives in the waters off the coast of Japan. In the span of the first pair of legs, it reaches 3.8 meters (12 feet), and can weigh up to 41 pounds (19 kilograms).

26. In its natural habitat, the Japanese spider crab feeds on shellfish and animal carcasses and can live up to 100 years.

elegant giant

The blue whale, also known as the blue whale and vomited, is the largest animal that has ever existed on Earth. The weight of this giant is equal to the weight of almost 40 elephants, and its fountain soars to a height of 9 meters. Blue whales are eternal wanderers. They do not form large herds, usually kept alone or in groups of 2-5 individuals. In summer, they feed in the cold, plankton-rich seas of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (with the exception of the Arctic Ocean), and in winter they migrate to temperate and warm waters for breeding. In Russian waters, blue whales are found in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
Despite its monstrous size, the blue whale is incredibly elegant. The outlines of its streamlined, cigar-shaped body, ending in a powerful tail fin, can be the envy of any submarine! Its dorsal fin is low, offset towards the tail. Along the underside of the throat and belly, like all minke whales, there are 70-120 shallow folds up to 10 cm wide.
The largest blue whale was caught in 1909 off the South Shetland Islands. It was a female (they are somewhat larger than males) 33.3 m long.

monotonous diet

The blue whale is a representative of baleen whales. Instead of teeth (they are laid in embryonic development, but never erupt), they have flexible horny plates - a whalebone - on the upper jaw in two parallel rows. Their inner edges, crushed into individual fibers, form a sieve that serves to strain out plankton or small fish from the water.
The blue whale has from 540 to 800 such plates, about 1 m long, and the frequency of the "sieve" allows you to effectively detain euphausiid crustaceans 5-9 cm in size. It is these planktonic crustaceans, known as "krill", that make up the diet of our giant.
Swimming into the accumulation of krill, the whale draws a full mouth of water, and then, using a huge (weighing 3-4 tons!) tongue as a piston, pushes it through the whalebone and swallows the remaining crustaceans.
Experts study the diet of blue whales by taking apart samples of their droppings, which have a bright pink color and an indescribably disgusting smell. But, as they say, science requires sacrifice!

The same fountain

Like all baleen whales, the nostrils of the blue whale are shifted to the top of the head and are equipped with two holes - blowholes. During diving, they are tightly closed and open when the whale emerges to the surface to take a series of breaths.
The water vapor contained in the exhaled air condenses in the cold, and the famous fountain soars up. The shape, direction, height of the fountain differ in different species of cetaceans, and experienced whalers have long been able to determine from afar by these signs who exactly they have to deal with. The blue whale has a very dense fountain, in the form of a narrow cone widening upwards, 6-9 m high.

whale songs

The development of the sense organs in baleen whales has its own characteristics. These water giants are practically devoid of smell, can hardly appreciate the taste of food and are rather short-sighted, but they have excellent sense of touch and hearing. There is not even a hint of ear holes on the head of the whales: they perceive sound waves with the lower jaw, through which the vibrations enter the middle and inner ear.
By now, everyone knows that toothed whales use echolocation to find prey and navigate underwater; it has been found (though not so well developed) in some species of baleen whales. Perhaps blue whales have it too. But it is known for sure that they use infrasound (a low-frequency sound inaccessible to our ear) to communicate with their relatives.

Eight meter baby

Little is known about the family life of blue whales, but it has been noticed that the male sometimes stays close to his chosen one for a long time. Mating occurs in wintering areas, and after 11-12 months of pregnancy in the same waters, the female gives birth to a cub (very rarely - two). This "baby" weighs about 2.5 tons and reaches a length of 8 m! It literally grows by leaps and bounds: it gains 40-90 kg in weight per day, drinking from 200 to 600 liters of milk containing up to 50% fats and proteins.
He does not have to suckle - the muscles of the nipple contract, and the milk is injected into his mouth in a tight stream. Milk feeding in blue whales lasts about 7 months, and during this time the whale grows up to 16 m in length, but it apparently reaches its physical flowering and sexual maturity only by 10 years.

Between life and death

For the time being, fate kept the blue whales. Due to the huge size, strength, speed and living far from the coast, such prey was "too tough" for whalers. It was also important that the carcasses of killed minke whales sink, and they had to be towed to the shore for butchering.
However, everything changed in the middle of the 19th century, when sailboats and oar whaleboats were replaced by steam ships, and instead of hand harpoons, whalers were armed with harpoon cannons and harpoons with powder charges. Dangerous whale hunting turned into a brutal slaughter, and the blue whale, due to its size, became the most desirable prey. They hunted him primarily for the sake of fat (blubber) and whalebone, as well as for meat.
In the first quarter of the 20th century, floating whaling factories went out to sea, each of which could harvest and process dozens of whales a day, and this brought blue whales to the brink of complete destruction. In 1948, the International Whaling Commission set quotas for the extraction of whales of various species, but only after 1966, blue whale hunting was banned, although not all countries (including the USSR) immediately and unconditionally joined this decision.
By that time, about 380,000 blue whales had been caught in the 20th century alone. And some of their populations were knocked out almost completely. To date, their total number is estimated at 10-25 thousand individuals.
On February 19, 1986, the International Whaling Commission imposed a total ban on industrial whaling and the sale of whale meat worldwide. Ecologists celebrate this date as the Day for the Protection of Whales and All Marine Mammals.
The blue whale is listed as threatened by the IUCN*. Its future is by no means rosy. Like many other marine life, whales are being harmed by ocean pollution and food depletion.

The life of a whale in numbers

During feeding, the whale dives to a depth of 100-200 m, emerging every 10-20 minutes. The record diving depth is 500 m, and the time spent under water is 36 minutes. The average speed of a blue whale is about 10-12 km/h.
The mouth of a blue whale holds up to 90 tons of water and crustaceans. During the day, he can eat 4-6 tons of krill, accumulating energy reserves, which he spends during a long fast in wintering areas.
The tail fin of the blue whale reaches a width of 7 m or more.

Brief description of the blue whale

Class: mammals
Squad: cetaceans
Suborder: baleen whales
Family: striped
Genus: minke whales
View: blue whale
Latin name: Balaenoptera musculus
Size: average body length - 25-27 m, maximum - up to 33.5 m
Weight: 120-150 t
Coloring: the top is dark gray with a bluish honey agaric, with spots and a marbled pattern, the bottom is light, the lower jaw is dark, the baleen is pitch black
Lifespan: 80-90 years old

Our reference:
* IUCN is an abbreviation International Union for Conservation of Nature(fr. Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature). Founded in 1948. This is an international non-profit organization dedicated to highlighting the problems of preserving the biodiversity of the planet. In particular, it draws up lists of animal and plant species that need special protection in different regions of the planet.
The IUCN headquarters is located in Gland, Switzerland.
The Union unites 82 states (including the Russian Federation), 111 government agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations and about 10,000 scientists and experts from 180 countries of the world.

Blue whale- the largest representative of the order of cetaceans and the entire class of mammals.

Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus , blue whale, blue whale) - a marine animal from the order of cetaceans, belongs to baleen whales from the minke whale genus.

The blue whale is the largest modern animal, and also probably the largest of all animals that have ever lived on Earth.

Adult lengthwhale (females are larger) can reach 24-33 meters, the weight of an adult whale is 100-120 tons,according to some reports, it can even exceed 150 tons!Weight of a newborn kitten -2-3 tons, length - 6-8 m.

The largest recorded specimen was a female killed by whalers in 1926 off the South Shetland Islands. Its length was 33.58 meters. This whale was not weighed, but it apparently weighed well over 150 tons.

There is also evidence that in 1947 a 190-ton blue whale was killed by whalers off South Georgia. Known blue whale and weighing 181 tons.

Blue whales 30 meters long have been seen repeatedly - in 1922 such a whale swam into the Panama Canal, and in 1964 a 30-meter whale weighing 135 tons was slaughtered off the Aleutian Islands by Soviet whalers.

However, in the past, determining the exact weight of blue whales was associated with significant difficulties, since whaling ships did not have the equipment capable of weighing such huge carcasses. Therefore, they were weighed in parts, and the weighing technique was finally developed only by 1926.

There is also an opinion that blue whales were crushed as a result of long-term predatory fishing, and back in the 18th century, when blue whales were much more numerous, specimens up to 37 meters in length could come across among them.

Blue whales, giants over 30 meters long, are quite rare, their average size is 22.8 m for males in the Northern Hemisphere and 23.5 m for females, in the Southern Hemisphere they are usually a meter larger.

In a blue whale, the tongue weighs 3 tons, the liver - 1 ton, the heart - 600-700 kg. The total amount of blood in a blue whale is up to 10 tons, the diameter of the dorsal artery is 40 cm, and the stomach can hold up to 2 tons of food. The blue whale's mouth is a "room with a floor area" of 24 square meters. meters, and the lungs can hold up to 14 cubic meters. meters of air.

There are three subspecies of the blue whale - northern, southern and dwarf, slightly different in size and physique. Sometimes a fourth subspecies stands out - the Indian blue whale. The first two subspecies gravitate to cold circumpolar waters, and the third is found mainly in tropical seas.

The way of life of all subspecies is almost the same. Whales keep mainly alone, less often in small groups, and even in groups they swim separately. Historically, the range of the blue whale occupied the entire world's oceans, but is now severely torn apart. The lifestyle of the blue whale is still not well understood.

The life expectancy of a blue whale is very long, and is comparable to the age of a person, according to various sources, a blue whale lives up to 80 and even up to 90 years, and the oldest known specimen was 110 years old!

However, according to some scientists, in well-studied herds of blue whales (in the Gulf of St. Lawrence), the life span of whales is at least 40 years.

Blue whale eating mainly large planktonic invertebrates, mainly crustaceans, mainly euphausiids, in the Antarctic - black-eyed (5-6 cm long), in the northern hemisphere - smaller crustaceans. A full stomach holds 1.5-2 tons of crustaceans.

Blue whales are pelagic animals, usually found in the open ocean and rarely come close to the shore.

A feeding whale swims slowly, remaining under water for 8-10 minutes. This is followed by 10-12 intermediate dives and shallow dives, each such dive takes 6-7 seconds, and a shallow dive takes 15-40 seconds, during which the whale manages to swim 40-50 meters under the very surface of the water. The highest dives in the series are the first (after ascending from the depth) and the last (before diving into the depth).

A "grazing" blue whale moves at a speed of 11-15 km / h, and a frightened one develops a speed of 33-40 km / h. But it can only move so fast for a few minutes.

The blue whale is distributed from the Chukchi Sea, Greenland, Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya to the Antarctic.

It is very rare in the tropical zone, wintering only in warm waters: in the Northern Hemisphere - at the latitudes of Southern Japan, Taiwan, California, Mexico, North Africa, the Caribbean Sea; in the Southern Hemisphere - at the latitudes of Australia, Peru, Ecuador, South Africa, Madagascar.

In summer, the blue whale feeds in the waters of the Antarctic, the North Atlantic, the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

Blue whales breed every 2 years in warm waters, mostly in winter.

Pregnancy lasts about 11 months, there is one cub in the litter. Females feed the cub with milk for about 7 months, and during this period the cub grows up to 16 meters, and increases its weight to 23 tons. During the day, the whale adds 80-100 kg in weight. At a year and a half, a young whale has a length of up to 20 meters and a weight of up to 45-50 tons.

Sexual maturity occurs at 4-5 years, females at this time reach a length of 23 meters. And they reach full growth and physical maturity with a body length of 26-27 m, at 14-15 years.

The physique of the blue whale is proportional, the body is well streamlined. The dorsal fin is small, its height is only 30 cm, it is set far back. The pectoral fins are narrow, pointed and somewhat shortened (1/7-1/8 body length). The width of the caudal fin with a small notch in the middle is equal to 1/4 of the body length. The head is wide, U-shaped from above, with margins convex to the side.

The body of the blue whale is dark gray, with a bluish tinge, mottled with light gray spots and a marbled pattern. There are more spots in the posterior half of the body and on the belly than in the anterior and on the back. The belly may be yellow or mustard.

In areas of mass feeding, its skin, like all minke whales, is overgrown with a green film of diatoms, which disappears in temperate and warm waters.

Whalebone- these are horn platinum and fringe, pitch black. The height does not exceed 130 cm, the width is 50-60 cm, and the number of plates is from 270 to 440 in each half of the upper jaw.

The sounds made by the blue whale are infrasounds, with a frequency below 50 Hz, mainly 8 - 20 Hz, and their intensity is rarely below 60 decibels. Blue whale calls are most intense at the lowest frequencies, around 1 Hz, but such calls last no more than 18 seconds.

Infrasound signals are common for communication over long distances during migrations where whales move several kilometers apart.

Studies by American specialists off the coast of Antarctica have shown that blue whales can exchange signals at a distance of up to 33 km.

The voice of the blue whale, like other large whales, is unusually loud, and on average, the voices of blue whales can have an intensity of up to 190 decibels in the subsonic range. Note that for a person in his auditory range (from 16 to 20 thousand Hz), a sound intensity of 180 decibels is already a pain threshold! The voice of the blue whale was recorded at a distance of 200 km, there is data on the audibility of the cries of blue whales at a distance of 400 and even 1600 km!

Endangered whale...

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of blue whales began to decline rapidly due to uncontrolled fishing. Whalers were attracted by the huge size of the carcass of this animal - from one whale you could get much more fat and meat than from any other cetacean.

By the 1960s, the blue whale was practically exterminated and was on the verge of extinction - in 1963, no more than 5,000 individuals remained.

Currently, despite the conservation measures taken, the blue whale is still very rare - the total number does not exceed 10,000 individuals, and new conservation measures are required to maintain its stable population. The main threat to whales is the anthropogenic factor, disruption of their habitual way of life and pollution of the seas.

The slow natural reproduction of blue whales also significantly hinders the growth of their population.

The initial number of blue whales, before the start of their intensive fishing, was estimated at 215,000. According to other sources, it could be even more, up to 350 thousand.

The first bans on blue whale fishing in the Northern Hemisphere date back to 1939, but they affected only certain areas.

The blue whale fishery was completely banned only in 1966, but the ban on fishing, however, did not immediately affect the “blue pygmy whales”, which continued to be caught even in the season until 1967.

The current population of blue whales is difficult to assess, for decades they have not been studied very actively, for example, the International Whaling Commission, since the mid-1970s, has practically not been counting the population.

In 1984, it was reported that no more than 2000 blue whales live in the Northern Hemisphere, about 10 thousand in the Southern Hemisphere, half of which are dwarf subspecies.

The growth of the blue whale population is slow, but in a number of places, for example, in areas near Iceland, the increase after the ban on fishing reached 5% per year.

American scientists who conducted a detailed study of the population of cetaceans off the Pacific coast of the United States noted that the number of blue whales in these areas during the 1980s tended to increase, however, there was no data on the growth of the population in the Pacific Ocean as a whole. There is a serious danger that the blue whale is on the verge of extinction, and that the blue whale population will never be able to recover to its original abundance.

Although the International Red Book notes that at present there is no direct threat to the blue whale population, nevertheless, long (up to 4-5 km) smooth fishing nets pose a serious danger to them, in which a significant number of marine animals die. mammals. True, fishermen claim that blue whales and fin whales easily overcome such nets, but one case of the death of a blue whale in nets still occurred in 1995.

Five blue whales have died in the Pacific Ocean from collisions with ships, and, by a strange coincidence, 4 of these 5 cases occurred in 2007. One blue whale usually dies from strikes against sea vessels per year.

Among the most well-studied group of whales living in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about 9% of animals have scars, clearly received from collisions with ships, and according to some estimates, this figure may be as high as 25%. This is due, both to the high concentration of blue whales in the area, and to the extremely heavy shipping. Off the coast of Western Canada, about 12% of blue whales have marks on their skin from various fishing gear.

Despite the strict protection of blue whales, even in the places of their greatest concentration there are no restrictions on navigation, but only recommendations to reduce the speed of ships, which are very rarely carried out by ship captains.

A significant threat to blue whales is pollution of the seas, including oil products. Analyzes conducted in the mid-1990s showed that blue whales' adipose tissue accumulates poisonous chemicals (polychlorinated biphenyls) that enter the sea. These substances, which accumulate in the body of pregnant females, are transferred to the cubs in the womb. Due to the small number of individual herds and inbreeding, genetic defects and degeneration can also play a negative role in reducing the population of blue whales.

The number of blue whales, according to studies by Swiss scientists, is also associated with violations of their migration routes. The noise background of the sea over the past few decades has increased so much that voice signals are often muffled, the noises made by ships, as a rule, have the same frequency as the voices of whales, so it becomes increasingly difficult for whales to navigate in this chaos of sounds, to look for relatives, which, in turn, makes it difficult to find a partner for reproduction.

Particular damage is caused, according to American researchers, by low- and medium-frequency sonar systems SURTASS, US Navy warships.

A.A. Kazdym

List of used literature

Tomilin A. G. Animals of the USSR and adjacent countries. Vol. 9 (Cetaceans). M., 1957

Tomilin A. G. Cetaceans of the seas of the USSR. M., 1962.

Yablokov A.V., Belkovich V.M., Borisov V.I. Whales and dolphins. M., 1972.

Blue whale. Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

Animal Life // Ed. S. P. Naumov and A. P. Kuzyakin. Moscow: Education, 1971.

Calambokidis J., Steiger G. Blue Whales. Voyageur Press, 1998.

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2002

Estes J. Whales, Whaling, and Ocean Ecosystems. University of California, 2006

Mead, James G., Brownell, Robert L. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005

William C. Cummings, Paul O. Thompson. Acoustical Society of America. 1971

Gambell R. The blue whale. Biologist, 1979

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