Buhairi Rifqa Moustafid
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest marine mammal on Earth to date and faces extinction.
They boast extraordinary dimensions, with an average length ranging from 24 to 30 meters (79 to 98 feet) and a weight of around 100 to 200 tons.
The natural habitat of the blue whale encompasses all oceans worldwide, from polar waters to tropical regions.
They are migratory animals, often moving from cold climate waters in the summer to warmer climate waters in the winter.
In terms of reproduction, females typically give birth to a calf every two to three years after a gestation period of around 10 to 12 months.
Blue whale calves are born weighing about 2.7 tons and measuring around 7 meters (23 feet) in length. They are nursed by their mothers and grow rapidly.
Blue whales exclusively feed on krill, small plankton swimming in marine waters. Blue whales employ a feeding technique called ‘feeding lunges.’
In this technique, the blue whale engulfs large quantities of water containing krill and filters it through baleen plates.
These baleen plates act as filters, allowing water to escape while retaining the krill, which the blue whale then ingests.
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Remarkably Massive
This largest mammal on Earth is not only physically massive but also composed of remarkable components.
A blue whale’s heart can be as large as a VW Beetle car, its tongue can weigh more than an elephant, and its blood vessels are so wide that a human could swim through them.
It possesses an enormous mouth, about one-third of its body length, capable of holding approximately 90 tons of water and plankton in a single gulp.
Loudest Sound in Nature with Extraordinary Hearing
Blue whales produce extremely loud sounds; their calls can be heard thousands of kilometers away in the ocean.
Capable of emitting sounds up to 188 decibels, louder than a jet engine, blue whales communicate by moans and groans accompanied by low-frequency pulse beats.
These sounds are used for inter-individual communication and can aid in navigation and reproduction.
Not only do blue whales have incredibly loud voices, but they also have exceptional hearing.
Though they can only communicate with very low-frequency sounds, blue whales can hear the sounds of other whales up to about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) away.
Gigantic Bodies, Tiny Food
Despite their size, blue whales are plankton eaters. Their primary food source is krill, small plankton swimming in marine waters.
Every day, a blue whale can consume about 3 to 4 tons of krill or approximately 40 million of these tiny shrimp.
Blue whales use a feeding technique called ‘feeding lunges,’ where they engulf a large amount of water containing krill and then filter it through baleen plates.
These plates act as sieves, allowing water to exit while retaining krill, which are then ingested by the blue whale.
Lengthy Migrations
They are migratory animals, often moving from cold climate waters in the summer to warmer climate waters in the winter.
They can travel thousands of kilometers each year searching for food and for the reproductive process.
Every year, this mammal migrates and covers approximately 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) over 4 months.
The cruising speed of a blue whale can reach 8.05 km/h (5 mph) and can accelerate up to 32.19 km/h (20 mph) when necessary.
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Carbon Heroes at Risk of Extinction
They are among the heroes of carbon for the Earth and humanity. Throughout their lives, a blue whale can capture and store carbon.
On average, they absorb 33 tons of CO2 accumulated in their bodies before their carcasses sink to the ocean floor.
This is significantly larger than a tree, which only absorbs up to 22 kg (48 pounds) of CO2 per year. Nevertheless, these large mammals are endangered due to past hunting.
Before the large-scale hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the blue whale population reached 240,000.
However, today, the remaining blue whale population is only around 10,000 to 25,000.