Where is the blue whale. The blue whale is the largest mammal

The blue whale, which is also called the vomit, scientists refer to the baleen whales. The length of this marine animal reaches 33 meters, and the mass sometimes exceeds 150 tons. Currently, it is he who is considered the largest earthly creature. Despite their huge size, they feed on crustaceans, plankton, krill, and small cephalopods. The giant swims slowly, taking water into its mouth, the volume of which is about 23 cubic meters. The plates of the whalebone form a wonderfully working filtering apparatus, through which food is filtered, and excess water goes into the ocean. For those who want to learn more about how the blue whale lives, which is sometimes very diverse and similar to science fiction, it is not so easy to find the right materials. The life of this giant is still insufficiently studied, and many data need to be verified.

At blue whale there are three subspecies - northern, southern and dwarf. Rarely, but still found Indian. The blue whale can be attributed to the centenarians of our planet. On average, its life expectancy is about 80 - 90 years, sometimes there are references that individual specimens could live up to 110 years.

Blue whales swim in the ocean in small groups of 2 - 3 individuals. Many adult animals are solitary. Sea giants are monogamous, if they form a pair, then for life and will never be separated. The male always stays close to the female, trying not to swim far from her. In places with an abundance of food, whales gather in large numbers, but even there they swim very scattered.

The movements of the animal are slow, apparently due to the large size of the body, it does not maneuver well and is rather clumsy. Until now, its activity at night and in the evening has hardly been studied, as it is assumed that it leads a daytime lifestyle and moves little at night.

What makes up the basis of the giant's diet has been fully studied. These are plankton, crustaceans not exceeding 6 cm in size, from the euphausian order, which often form huge aggregations - krill. Small fish, small squids are swallowed by accident during feeding and are of no importance for the nutrition of the whale. The marine animal eats the plankton along with the water, then closes its huge mouth and squeezes out the remaining water with its tongue through the whalebone. Sometimes it is very difficult for him to "slam" it, because, according to measurements, the volume of such water in a 150-tonne buval is 32.6 cubic meters. Often the blue whale does not have enough strength, with a full mouth of food it is forced to roll over on its side or even on its back, then under the pressure of the deep sea the mouth slams shut. A completely filled stomach of a sea giant can hold up to one and a half tons of food.

Interesting Facts about whales contain the following information. For about eight months a year, blue whales eat almost nothing, they live on previously accumulated reserves - they spend fat. But in the summer they actively eat, absorb food almost without stopping and quickly restore normal weight. To do this, they sail to the cold, but rich in food, arctic waters of the Southern Hemisphere and feed intensively there for 120 days. In warm tropical latitudes, the stomach of whales is usually empty.

reproduction

The blue whale has the lowest rate of natural growth among all baleen whales. At one time, ketologists (scientists who study cetaceans) believed that the increase in their population would no longer be able to compensate for the decline. In this regard, on February 19, 1986, the International Whale Commission introduced a complete ban on fishing for all types of these marine animals.

The cubs of the female biuvala give birth every two years. But recently, due to their small number couples may occur much less frequently. This leads to a decrease in the likelihood of offspring. The duration of pregnancy is not precisely established, on average, from 10 to 12 months. Most often, one cub is born, whose body length exceeds 6 meters, and its weight is 2 - 3 tons. Sometimes there may be twins.

Female blue whales have several embryos at the beginning of pregnancy, the maximum number of embryos is 7. But in the later stages, most of them resolve, which is typical for many cetaceans. This is an atavism, a legacy of land ancestors who had large offspring.

The female buffaloes nurse their young for the first 7 months. During this time, the "baby" manages to grow up to 16 meters, which is comparable to the size of an adult male sperm whale. Its mass can reach 23 tons. Every day, a small whale receives 90 liters of milk, and its weight, on average, increases by 44 kg. The fat content in mother's milk reaches 50%, and the amount of protein and fat together make up half total weight. Therefore, with such nutrition, a cub at the age of one and a half years reaches a mass of 50 tons and grows up to 20 meters in length. physical maturity in byuvals occurs after 15 years.

Short but interesting

In the old days, legends were made about mysterious sea animals, stories were told about them. Many of them were pretty fantastic. In those distant times, people believed that it was possible to live in the stomach of this huge creature. In fact, the blue whale's throat opening is comparable in size to an ordinary saucer. Theoretically, a sperm whale can swallow a person, the size of his throat may well allow this. For many people, the following facts may seem surprising or unbelievable:

Over the years, the number blue whales gradually decreases. But many scientists believe that they can still be saved from complete extinction. Well-known politicians, actors, public figures are working on the possibility of preserving these, which have already become rare marine ones. Thanks to the systematic study of these giants by ketologists, many people have learned what it is, a blue whale, interesting facts about which are full of incredible data.

Is the blue whale a fish or an animal? It is impossible to attribute the blue whale to fish for several reasons: firstly, the absence of gills - the whale breathes with lungs. Secondly, whales have a 4-chambered heart, and not a 2-chambered one, like fish. Thirdly, females feed their young with milk, that is, they are mammals. Finally, whales do not have scales and are warm-blooded, unlike fish. These are just a few of the main reasons why we can classify blue whales as animals and not fish.

Blew is an animal of the order of baleen whales. It has an elongated, slender body and a large head, which makes up 27% of the total body length. The upper jaw of the blue whale is much narrower than the lower. The vomit is usually dark gray, sometimes with a blue tint. Large spots are often found on the body, mainly on the abdominal and rear parts. If you look at the whale from above - through the water, it appears blue, which is why it got its name.

The blue whale dives to a fairly large depth - up to 200 m, but if it is injured or scared, it can go even deeper - up to 500 m. he can hide under water for almost an hour. After surfacing, the whale breathes rapidly for 2-10 minutes and dives again. With each dive, he releases a fountain of steam up to 10 meters high.

The blue whale feeds mainly on plankton. To catch it, it opens its mouth and swims, slowly absorbing water from the krill along the way. Then, closing his mouth, he vomited with his tongue pushes the water through the whalebone. Food at the same time settles on the fringe of the mustache, and then is swallowed. The stomach of a blue whale can hold up to a ton of food. Vomits eat mainly in summer, and after migrating to warm waters for the winter, they eat almost nothing.

Some scientists believe that the brain of blue whales is closest in its capabilities to the human brain when compared with other animals. Also, blue whales have a good memory: they can remember where they were born and raised, they recognize their parents even after many years.

These animals have poor eyesight and sense of smell. They do, however, have a highly developed sense of hearing and touch. Blue whales exchange sound signals with their relatives at a distance of up to 33 km.

Blew is a solitary animal. Occasionally, individuals unite in a few flocks, but even there they swim apart. However, these animals are believed to be monogamous and form very close and long bonds.

Blue whales breed offspring about once every 2-3 years. Pregnancy lasts about 11 months. Babies are born 8 meters in length and weighing about 3 tons. By the age of one and a half, they grow up to 20 meters and increase in weight up to 45-50 tons. The female feeds her baby with milk for about 7 months. The cub drinks during the day up to 200 liters of mother's milk. The animal reaches the period of maturity by 5-10 years, and the life expectancy of the blue whale is approximately 70-90 years.

Scientists have put forward the theory that the ancestors of whales were mammals that previously lived on land. The structure of the skeleton of these animals now living in the sea confirms this hypothesis. They do not look like fish, because they do not spawn, they do not breathe with gills, their cubs are born fully formed and are fed with mother's milk. What are whales? The size of some representatives of this detachment is impressive. Let's consider them.

The biggest whale

The dimensions of the largest giant, according to some sources, were: a body length of about 34 meters and a weight of 180 tons. Blue, or, as it is also called, according to the classification, belongs to mammalian vertebrates. On average, representatives of this species grow up to 30 meters. They weigh about 150 tons.

The sizes of whales (photo) of other species are more modest. For example, a toothed sperm whale has a body length of about twenty meters, and a killer whale - no more than ten. Dolphins also belong to cetaceans. The size of these mammals is even smaller. The largest dolphin rarely grows more than three meters long.

Many people consider whales to be large fish. In fact, this is an erroneous opinion. Similar in them is only the general structure of the body and habitat. There are significant differences in nervous activity, circulation, skeletal structure, skin. The reproduction of offspring and its feeding is the same as that of land mammals.

Whales: sizes and varieties

Scientists divide the representatives of these mammals into two suborders. They differ significantly in lifestyle and nutrition. One group is another - toothed. The names already contain the characteristics of their way of life.

Baleen whales are peaceful animals. They feed on plankton and molluscs, filtering them out of the water column through whalebone plates. Most of them in adulthood have a body length of more than ten meters. The species features of representatives of this suborder and the way of life differ little.

Toothed whales are predators. Their food is fish and other suborders are more varied. Most representatives have body sizes up to ten meters. The following families are distinguished: oceanic and river dolphins, sperm whales, beaked dolphins. They, in turn, have divisions into subfamilies and genera, depending on the characteristics of the lifestyle and habitat.

Beluga whale

In the suborder of toothed whales, there are representatives that differ in a special skin color. She is white. Hence the name - white whale. Animals belong to the narwhal family. The size of the white whale is up to six meters. The mass of adult males reaches two tons. For comparison: a newborn calf of a blue baleen whale has approximately the same dimensions.

The beluga whale lives up to forty years. Hunts for schooling fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Lives in northern latitudes. View features: thick layer epidermis and fat, protecting from hypothermia, "lobed" head and short oval pectoral fins.

The white whale has a specific color not from birth. Cubs are born dark blue. At the age of one year, they brighten and become a grayish tint. And only after three years (more often by the age of five) they acquire a characteristic white color.

Despite the fact that this is a large animal, another representative of cetaceans, the killer whale, can hunt the beluga whale. Polar bears can also pose a threat to them. This happens when beluga whales find themselves trapped in polynyas by dense ice. They cannot stay under water for a long time, as they emerge every two minutes to breathe air.

Blue whale

It's on the planet. Scientists distinguish three types. Two of them: northern and southern - live in different latitudes. The third representative is the pygmy blue whale. Its dimensions are much more modest. An adult reaches only the weight of a cub of its usual counterpart. Dwarfs are quite rare and are found only in the southern seas.

Everything is big in big animals. The size of a whale's heart is comparable to a small car, it can weigh up to 700 kg. This is not surprising, because this organ constantly pumps up to 10 tons of blood. The diameter of the giant's artery is 40 cm, and a child can freely crawl into it. The tongue weighs up to three tons. With it, the whale pushes large volumes of water out of its mouth through its whisker, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich is more than twenty square meters.

Peculiarities

The color of blue whales is actually grey. But when you look at them through the water column, it seems that they have a bluish tint. The sense of smell, taste and vision of these giants are poorly developed. But they hear well. Communication is carried out by transmitting ultrasonic signals, and orientation in space - using echolocation.

Is the blue whale dangerous to humans? The size of these animals is enormous by our standards. However, they cannot eat a person. They have different food preferences. The diameter of the pharynx is only 10 cm. This is enough to pass plankton, small fish, crustaceans and mollusks. The only harm that a blue whale can cause is to accidentally turn over a vessel that will be in close proximity to it when surfacing.

Cetaceans breathe atmospheric air. They must from time to time rise to the surface for the next portion of oxygen. In the normal state, the blue whale dives for 10-15 minutes. When ascending during exhalation, a characteristic fountain of water appears.

and lifestyle

The habitat of whales is extensive. Scientists do not have sufficient capacity to track all their movements. It has been established that, depending on the season, blue whales migrate in search of food and optimal conditions. According to other observations, some of the animals are constantly in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean.

It is believed that the lifespan of blue whales can reach hundreds of years. They are loners. Only sometimes they gather in small groups during seasonal migrations. The mother nurses the cubs for at least six months. During the day, a growing "baby", weighing up to ten tons, can drink 600 liters of mother's milk.

Population and commercial catch

Scientists suggest that before the beginning of the active in the waters of the World Ocean, there were at least 250 thousand individuals of the largest animals on the planet. To date, according to the most optimistic forecasts, there are no more than 10 thousand of them left.

What is the value of whales to humans? The body size of these animals is large by commercial standards. From one carcass, whalers received not only meat, but also fat and whalebone. Meat is still popular in Japan, and it is not surprising that the fishery is most active there.

The population of blue whales has decreased significantly. Over the past decades, a large number of adults have been destroyed. Female whales reach sexual maturity at ten years old. Once every two years, they can give offspring. But the situation is such that most of the young animals become a victim of fishing, never reaching their maturity.

Today, blue whales are protected. They are listed in the Red Book. But man and the consequences of his activities associated with pollution environment still pose a serious threat to the entire population.

The largest mammals on earth are whales. The results of weighing these giant inhabitants of the world's oceans are truly impressive.

It is hard to believe that such massive animals can move in the water as quickly and gracefully as whales can do.

Interesting fact: scientists have established that whales are descended from ancient land mammals from the order of artiodactyls.

The closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus, they descended from a common ancestor who lived tens of millions of years ago. Then, 50 million years ago, the whales moved to the ocean, and the hippos preferred to stay closer to land and fresh water.

How much does the largest whale weigh?

The largest whale caught by humans, of which there is reliable evidence, was a female blue whale, caught in 1926 near the South Shetland Islands. The weight of the record holder was 176,792 kg; however, some researchers claim that in fact she was never weighed, and her weight was calculated approximately. The length of this individual exceeded 33 meters, which is also a record.


According to some reports, in 1947, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the island of South Georgia, whalers caught a blue whale weighing 190 tons. There is also information about the capture of a whale weighing 181.4 tons.

What is the weight of a blue (blue) whale?

Whales are the largest mammals on the planet, and the largest of all cetaceans is the blue whale, which is also called the blue whale, or blue whale. The dimensions of these giants can reach 33 meters, and the weight can significantly exceed 150 tons. With such an impressive size, the blue whale is a rather harmless creature: although it is a predator, it feeds exclusively on plankton.

The favorite delicacy of blue whales is krill - small crustaceans, the length of which does not exceed 6 centimeters. If the whale swallows something larger, then it does it by accident, while eating plankton masses.

Females in vomits are noticeably larger than males: in southern hemisphere the average length of these animals is 24.5 meters for females and almost 24 meters for males, in the Northern Hemisphere these sizes are 1 meter less.

There is an opinion that in recent years whales have been greatly reduced as a result of hunting for them - the attention of whalers is primarily attracted to large individuals, so they die more often and leave fewer offspring than their more modest relatives.


Some experts say that earlier among blue whales, individuals up to 37 meters long were often found.

The maximum weight of the largest representatives of this species is a rather controversial issue, since not every whale caught can be accurately weighed, and not every weighing result is officially recorded, but there are reports of whales weighing up to 190 tons.

Not all experts agree with this figure, but they all agree that 150 tons are far from the limit for vomit.

How much does a whale's heart weigh?

The heart of the blue whale is the largest heart in the entire world. The weight of an adult heart is 600-700 kilograms, the normal pulse for these giant hearts is 5-10 beats per minute. In the tallest whales, the heart can weigh almost a ton. The amount of blood in large specimens exceeds 8 thousand liters.

Giant sizes are not only the heart of the blue whale, but also its other internal organs. For example, the lung capacity of an adult whale is over 3,000 liters.


Thanks to such powerful lungs, these animals are distinguished by extremely loud voices and can exchange sound signals at a distance of up to 33 km.

“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. Oral cavity toothed whales are 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

Young blue whale when born, it 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..