Blue Whale Classification and Evolution

The Blue Whale is an enormous species of whale that is found in subtropical and polar waters
worldwide. With some individuals growing to more than 100ft long, the Blue Whale is not
only the largest animalspecies in the world but it is also thought that it could be the biggest
creature that has ever existed. There are three recognised sub-species of the Blue Whale
which are the Northern Blue Whale, the Southern Blue Whale and the Pygmy Blue Whale
that despite its name, still reaches an average length of 24 meters. Although their
enormous size and slow-maturing nature has meant that the world's Blue Whale population
has never been greatly numerous, they have drastically declined in numbers due to having
been hunted by Humans particularly over the past 100 years. Blue Whales are now legally
protected and despite one not having been deliberately caught since the 1970s, their numbers
are continuing to fall in much of their natural range.

Blue Whale Anatomy and Appearance

The Blue Whale has an enormously long body that is slim and narrow, which means that they
are able to cut through the water with ease. Their hairless skin is smooth and greyish blue
in colour with a lighter underside and a series of pleats on their throats which allows it to
expand to more than four times its normal size when the Blue Whale is feeding. The large tail
of the Blue Whale is straight and splits into two rubbery flukes at the end and helps to propel
their massive bodies through the water. Blue Whales belong to the
"Baleen Whales" group which means that instead of having teeth, there are up to 395 hard
and bristle-like baleen plates that hang from the upper jaw and are used to filter food out of
the water. Like their relatives, Blue Whales also have two blow-holes on the top of their large
heads which are used to expel stale air and sea water from their lungs when the Blue Whale
surfaces to breathe.

Blue Whale Distribution and Habitat

Blue Whales are found in both polar and tropical waters worldwide, migrating between the
two at different times of year. In the summer months, Blue Whales are found in the cold
waters of the Arctic and the Antarctic (depending on the sub-species) where they feed on the
abundant amount food, before moving towards warmer, less-rich waters for the winter when
they breed. Although the three Blue Whale sub-species do differ slightly in size and
colouration, the main difference between them is where they live with Northern Blue Whales
and Southern Blue Whales never meeting one another. Northern Blue Whales tend to inhabit
the rich, vast waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans, where Southern Blue
Whales are found on the other side of the Equator in the southern hemisphere. Although
Pygmy Blue Whales are also found in the south, they tend to prefer the southern Indian
Ocean along with the South Pacific.

Blue Whale Behaviour and Lifestyle

With the exception of females with their young, Blue Whales are solitary animals that are
known to occasionally gather in loose groups to feed. These enormous animals use a variety
of sounds (known as songs) including hums, squeaks and rumbles to communicate between
one another, particularly during the breeding season in winter. In order to ensure that their
voices are heard, the noises Blue Whales make are incredibly loud and having been recorded
at volumes greater than 180 decibels, they are known produce the loudest sound of any
creature on the planet. The Blue Whale has very small fins and flippers so relies on its
enormous tail to help it to plough through the ocean. Blue Whales also uses their tails to
make deep dives as by bringing it above the surface of the water, they are able to get enough
power to travel up to 200 meters steeply down into the sea.

Blue Whale Reproduction and Life Cycles

Blue Whales breed in the warmer, tropical waters during the winter or early spring when after
a gestation period that lasts for nearly a year, the female Blue Whale gives birth to a single
calf on her return to the region the following year. After spending all summer feeding in the
cold, rich waters at the poles, female Blue Whales eat almost nothing whilst they are nursing
their young. Newborn Blue Whales already measure seven meters in length and weigh around
2.5 tonnes and remain by their mother's side for at least their first year. Before they are
weaned by the time they are eight months old, Blue Whale calves are known to consume up
to 90kg of milk every day. Blue Whales are able to start reproducing themselves when they
are between 10 and 15 years old with females giving birth every two or three years. Blue
Whales can live for up to 40 years.

Blue Whale Diet and Prey

The Blue Whale is a carnivorous animal that despite the fact that it doesn't have proper teeth,
survives on a diet that is mainly comprised of krill and small crustaceans, along with the
occasional small fish. Blue Whales feed by swimming up towards a shoal of prey and thanks
to the pleats on their neck which allows their throat to expand, take an enormous gulp of
water into the sac created in their lower jaw and shut their mouths. The water is then expelled
but thousands of tiny creatures are retained by their fine baleen plates which are then
swallowed. Blue Whales are able to consume up to six tonnes of prey every day during the
summer months which they spend in the cold, rich waters around the poles. Although Blue
Whales are known to eat a tremendous amount during the summer, when they migrate to the
warmer waters for winter to breed they will barely eat anything at all.

Blue Whale Predators and Threats

Due to the immense size of an adult Blue Whale, they have no natural predators in
the ocean with people being their biggest threat. Young Blue Whale calves however, are
more vulnerable particularly once they have left the safer, warmer waters of their nursery and
begin to travel throughout the more dangerous seas. Blue Whale calves are preyed upon by
pods of Killer Whales that are able to use their intelligence and team work to catch and kill
such a large animal. However, when Blue Whale hunting began in the 1800s with the
invention of a more technical harpoon the biggest trouble for Blue Whales began. With
increasingly better technologies, the situation escalated in the 1900s and decimated the global
Blue Whale population, with people hunting them for their meat and blubber until an
international ban finally gave them some protection in the 1960s.