The blue or blue whale, he also vomited, is considered the largest mammal on the planet currently living. Some individuals reach a length of more than 30 meters, although such giants are relatively rare. The average size of a blue whale is about 26 meters in length, and the mass ranges from 100-120 tons.

The blue whale is the largest living animal. This mammal lives in different regions depending on the subspecies. The most numerous subspecies live in cold waters.

Where do whales live? Previously, the habitat of this mammal extended to the entire oceans, but due to the development of whaling, the number of these animals has greatly decreased. In some areas they have become very rare. In addition, the largest whale in the world migrates from one region to another in search of food. In summer, these creatures move to cooler areas, and in winter they prefer warm ones.

The habitat largely depends on the subspecies. The dwarf vomit prefers the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean, while the larger subspecies settle in the cold waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The largest of the subspecies is considered to be the southern one, living most of the time in subantarctic waters, but sometimes found off the coast of Africa.

At present, blubbers are rare. The reason for this was whaling, which is now banned. Had an impact on the size of the populations of this mammal and poor ecology.

How many of these animals are left at the moment? A few years before the introduction of a ban on whaling, blue whales remained no more than 5,000. At the moment, the population has increased by about 2 times compared to 1963. The number of giant whales currently living in the oceans does not exceed 10,000 individuals, which is less than 10% of the number of individuals before the development of whaling.

Appearance

What was the size of the largest whale officially recorded? At the moment, the largest whale is considered to be a female caught in 1926. The length of this individual was 33.5 meters. The weight of the largest blue whale was not recorded, but according to the estimates of the whalers who caught it, it was at least 200 tons. Information about larger individuals was not documented.

How much does a whale weigh? The mass usually ranges from 100 to 120 tons, but sometimes it can be more. Whales reaching gigantic sizes can weigh 150-200 tons. Such individuals are not uncommon.

What do whales look like? This mammal is second in size only to a few prehistoric animals, significantly surpassing all currently existing. The body size of males is somewhat smaller than that of females. The length of the body of the female vomited, on average, about 2 m longer than the length of the male. In addition, the body weight of females is greater.

Since the blue whale is a large animal, its internal organs also reach gigantic proportions. How much does a blue whale's heart weigh? It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question. In many ways, the mass of this organ depends on the subspecies. How much does the heart of a vomit weigh? From 500 kg to 1 ton. In one beat, the whale's heart is able to drive more than 200 liters of blood.

The vomited tongue weighs from 3 to 4 tons. This is the mass of a car. The mass of the lower jaw of this mammal, which has taken a mouthful of krill, is sometimes so great that the animal is not able to close its mouth on its own. In this case, the largest mammal turns over on its back. Under the influence of gravity, the mouth closes itself.

The size of the fat layer of these giants is also significant. Fat makes up to 27% of a mammal's body weight. The thickness of the fat layer can reach up to 30 cm.

The lung capacity of a blue whale often exceeds 3,000 liters. The total volume of blood is about 8 tons.

Huge cubs

The blue whale is a monogamous animal. Animals form a couple, after which they do not part under any circumstances.

The frequency of birth of cubs depends on environmental factors, as well as on the number of individuals in a particular area. On average, it is about 2 years.

Pregnancy in the blues lasts about 11 months, after which the female gives birth to 1 cub, extremely rarely there can be 2 cubs. In this case, they are born with an interval of several months. Several embryos are formed, but most of them are absorbed in the womb. The mass of a newborn whale is about 2-3 tons, and its length varies from 6 to 8 meters.

The duration of breastfeeding is approximately 7 months. During this time, the whale grows up to 16 meters in length. The mass of a blue whale at this age reaches 23 tons. An adult vomit is considered from the age of 10-15 years. At this age, individuals become capable of reproduction.

How long do whales live? The life expectancy of this mammal is comparable to that of a human. Bluval is able to live up to 80 years. The maximum lifespan of a blue whale, documented, is 110 years, but such numbers are rare. Thus, the blue whale is an animal that can be considered a long-liver. Due to whaling, the life expectancy of the vomit has been significantly reduced. How many years do these creatures live on average at the moment? The average life expectancy of huge mammals is approximately 45 years.

Vomiting food

Being the largest animal currently existing, the vomit is forced to eat a huge amount of food per day. What does a whale eat? The basis of the diet of this mammal is krill. Krill are the smallest crustaceans, plankton. Rarely eaten fish and large crustaceans. Eating these living beings is an accident. The giant swallows the passing fish along with the krill. The speed of movement in this case is about 4-6 km / h.

Due to their size, the blue whale is forced to eat a large amount of food. It eats up to 8 tons of krill per day.

How does the blue whale feed? The animal swims with an open mouth into which krill comes across. After that, the mouth is closed. With the help of a whalebone, water is decanted. The plankton remains in the mouth. When the largest creature in the world has pumped all the water, it swallows the prey.

Cubs that feed on mother's milk consume about 90 liters per day. They add up to 44 kg of weight per day.

The blue whale is considered safe for humans, however, being close to these animals, one should not forget about safety rules, as they sometimes capsize boats.

whale songs

The main reason the blue whale uses sound signals is to communicate with relatives. The sounds that this giant makes belong to the infrasonic spectrum. Vomits are able to communicate in this way, being at a distance of up to 33 km.

Another reason why these animals use sound signals is the need to navigate the terrain. Visibility in water is lower than in the air, so animals living in the sea, in addition to vision, use other methods to determine their location relative to other objects, in particular echolocation. The sound made by the whale is reflected, bumping into an obstacle, and returns. Thus, the vomit determines the distance of the obstacles. Thus, the whales are looking for krill, their main food.

At the moment, motor boats and other artificial sources of sound under water cause great harm to giant mammals. They make it difficult to navigate in space. In addition, the largest whale can get hurt on the boat. Many stranded animals were found to have similar injuries, as well as organ ruptures and internal bleeding.

Mysteries of nature

Scientists have not yet figured out why marine mammals periodically wash ashore. There are many assumptions regarding this riddle, but none of them can be considered reliable. Among the most popular versions are theories of echolocation failures, diseases, reactions to environmental pollution. Whichever assumption turns out to be correct, beaching will be difficult to prevent due to the size of the animal. During the year, several dozen vomits are thrown onto land.

A whale stranded ashore usually dies. The mass of these huge animals is too large to survive on earth. Under the influence of gravity, the giant's body destroys itself.

Another reason for the death of a whale stranded on the beach can be dehydration. In addition, whales can suffocate if the water cuts off the whale's ability to breathe during high tide.

Strandings of cetaceans are often massive. Several individuals are thrown out at once. It is extremely rare to save whales stranded ashore, since this work is very laborious, and sea giants are not able to stay on the surface for a long time.

Where do whales live?

Blue whales live in all the oceans of the world, and prefer the coastal shelf of ocean waters. Blue whales move to different regions of the ocean depending on the season.
Many whales can migrate from northern latitudes to the tropics in winter.
There is evidence that individual blue whales can stay closer to the equator all year round.
In practice, tracking the movement of whales is quite difficult, since they live in the open ocean.

How long do they live?

Scientists believe that blue whales live at least 80-90 years, possibly longer.

What do they eat?

Blue whales feed mainly on krill. Whales eat a variety of foods depending on where they live. During the summer months, whales eat about 4 tons of food each day. Blue whales that live off Baja California and Mexico are known to eat red crabs.
The blue whale is a representative of baleen whales, instead of teeth it has a mustache.
The mustache hangs from the upper jaw. They are made of keratin, a material similar to fingernails, and then turn into fine hairs in the mouth next to the tongue. The whale draws a very large amount of water into its mouth, and then releases it back. When water is forced out of the mouth, the baleen plates act like a sieve and retain food.

The blue whale is an animal known throughout the world as the largest marine life. Dimensions of adults in length can reach 30 meters. Interestingly, in this species, the females are traditionally larger and can bypass the male in length by as much as 10 meters. In the 20th century, blue whales were actively exterminated due to commercial fishing. For this reason, their population has been greatly reduced. However, later a ban was introduced on the destruction of blue whales, due to which the number of these animals began to increase markedly.

Appearance characteristic

The blue whale, despite its name, is not completely blue. Its upper part is quite colorful and consists of a mixture of gray and blue. From below, this marine inhabitant, as a rule, has a light gray tint or a yellow-white color. The yellow color in the abdominal region of the whale is given by microscopic algae, which are located on it as growths. These algae are called diatoms. The plants were mainly distributed in oceanic waters of rather low temperatures.

To date, according to official sources, the largest individual that has ever been caught is a female whale with a length of 23.58 meters. The mass of such marine life may well reach 200 tons. To understand how huge this weight is, you can compare it with the weight of an elephant, which is 7.5 tons. The size of the heart of this marine inhabitant, which is identical to the size of a car, is also surprising. The beating of such a device can be heard even for three kilometers. There are varieties of blue whales, for example, pygmy whales. They differ from their relatives in a slightly more modest size, such individuals are about three meters shorter in length than other types of blue whales.

Blue whales can also be attributed to the animals that make the loudest sounds. The strength and volume of the sounds they make reaches 188 decibels. This volume exceeds even the volume of the reactor, which is only 140 decibels. Representatives of the species are able to hear their fellows at a great distance - up to 1500 kilometers.

Blue whale communication

Blue whales spend most of their lives alone, traveling across the sea. Sometimes they join in small groups of 2-3 individuals. Large flocks of about 50-60 whales are traditionally found in places where there is a large accumulation of food.

It should be borne in mind that the whale has the loudest voice of all animals. The sounds made by the blue whale travel for miles in the deep sea due to their low frequency. Whales can easily communicate with their relatives, located hundreds and even thousands of kilometers away. For this reason, swimming in splendid solitude, which seems to us, in fact, is not.

The diet of blue marine life

Whales feed by diving into the sea to a depth of about 100 meters. A whale's stomach can hold up to a ton of krill at a time. The whale dives in this way approximately every 15-20 minutes. During summer feeding, each individual requires up to 4 tons of krill daily.

The famous whalebone is located in the mouth of the animal, which is a black keratinized plate located at the top of the sky and hanging down. There are about 400 such plates on each side. The length of each varies from 50 to 100 centimeters. The "whalebone" is necessary for the animal primarily as a kind of filter with which the whale filters out water and krill. When it enters the mouth, water exits through the plates, but the whale swallows the remaining food.

Life activity of blue whales and reproduction

Female cetaceans bring one baby every two to three years. Today, this rate of population addition exceeds the mortality due to the whaling that is still going on.

Newborn whales are the largest babies on the planet. Only a born whale has a body length of up to 8 meters, and a mass of up to 4 tons. The female carries the baby for a year. Traditionally, only one calf is born. A person can be very surprised at the growth rate of small whales. Every day the cub becomes larger by 90 kilograms. An adult is considered a whale that has reached the age of 7-8 months. During this period, the animal already reaches 15 meters in length and begins to learn to swim without the help of adults. Whales become mature in different ways, usually between 5 and 10 years of age.

Blue whales are also famous for their fastest growth rate. In just one year, the size of the tissues of this animal becomes several billion times larger.

Blue whales do not have teeth, like most cetaceans. For this reason, it can be extremely difficult for scientists to determine how old an individual is. The average number of years that blue whales usually live is today considered to be 50 years old. Some members of the species are able to live much longer, up to about 90 years. There is also an absolute record - a whale that lived 110 years.

The process of killing whales

Before the active hunting of blue whales began, the population of these animals significantly exceeded 250 thousand individuals. In the 20th century, an active extermination of individuals of this species began, as a result of which blue whales were almost completely destroyed. From 1904 to 1967, about 350 thousand individuals were destroyed, and this is only in the southern hemisphere. A large number of individuals were killed, including by Soviet whalers in the 60-70s of the 20th century.

Particularly stands out in the last century in 1931, when there was a real flourishing of whaling. Almost 30,000 blue whales were killed in one season alone. Only in 1967 did the situation begin to change. At this time, people from all over the world began to draw attention to the problem of the extermination of this species, after which the hunting of the largest marine life was banned.

Prevalence in our time

Today, blue whales are found all over the world. Their habitat is the world's oceans, except for the Arctic. Blue whales are the rarest species of cetaceans found today. So far, scientists cannot reliably determine the population size of the species. It is believed that today there are about 10-25 thousand individuals in the world.

One of the largest populations is a group of whales living in the Pacific Ocean, in its northern part, not far from California. The group has about 2 thousand individuals, and the number of this population is increasing very quickly, giving hope for an increase in the number of cetaceans in general.

Pygmy whales, as well as pygmy whales, are most commonly found in the Indian Ocean. According to the results of recent studies, it was found that these species of whales are found, including in other parts of our planet.

Blue whales live mainly in deep ocean waters. In summer, these animals travel towards the poles, where the water temperature is slightly lower than in other places. In winter, whales, on the contrary, return back to the equator to warmer waters for breeding.

Since the seasons in different hemispheres take place at completely different times, directly opposite to each other, representatives of various populations living on opposite sides of the equator do not communicate with each other.

What is dangerous for whales?

1. Filling ocean waters with various chemicals.
2. There is a high probability of whales colliding with ships, as well as the danger of entanglement of individuals in fishing gear.
3. Violation of the balance of sound in nature, which is dangerous for animals because they will not be able to find a mate.
4. Loss of a permanent place of location and habitation.

Climate change is becoming a very dangerous moment for whales. The fact is that a serious increase in temperature can make the water more acidic, as a result of which the number of krill, which is the basis of the diet for blue whales, may decrease.

Video: blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

The blue whale or blue whale is a marine animal that is a representative of the order of cetaceans. The blue whale belongs to the baleen whales of the minke whale genus. The blue whale is the largest whale on the planet. In this article you will find a description and photo of the blue whale, learn a lot of new and interesting things about the life of this huge and amazing animal.

The blue whale looks very huge, but it has an elongated and slender body. The large head of this whale is equipped with small eyes and a sharp snout with a wide lower jaw. The blue whale has a blowhole, when exhaling from which it releases a vertical fountain of water up to 10 meters high. On the head in front of the blowhole, the blue whale has a noticeable longitudinal ridge, which is called the "breakwater".

The blue whale has a dorsal fin that is strongly shifted back. This fin is very small and shaped like a pointed triangle. The rear edge of the whale's fin is covered with scratches, which form an individual pattern for each whale. By such drawings, researchers can distinguish each individual. The length of this fin is only 35 cm.

The blue whale has narrow, elongated pectoral fins that reach up to 4 meters in length. The caudal fin of a blue whale reaches up to 8 meters wide, it has a thick caudal stalk and a small notch. All these elements help the blue whale to easily control its large body in the water.

The blue whale looks very unusual, thanks to its longitudinal stripes. Like all minke whales, the blue whale has many longitudinal stripes on the underside of its head that continue down its throat and belly. These stripes are formed by the folds of the skin and help the blue whale's throat stretch when it swallows a large volume of water with food. There are usually about 60-70 such stripes in a blue whale, but sometimes more.

The blue whale is the largest whale of all cetaceans at present. Also, the blue whale is the largest animal on Earth. The size of the blue whale is huge and makes a strong impression. Giants 30 meters long and weighing more than 150 tons are amazing. In blue whales, females are slightly larger than males.

The largest blue whale is known - this is a female, which had a length of 33 meters, with a body weight of 190 tons. Among males, the largest blue whale weighed 180 tons, with a body length of 31 meters. Huge blue whales over 30 meters long are extremely rare today. Therefore, in our time, the length of the blue whale has somewhat decreased. At the same time, the mass of the blue whale also became slightly smaller.

The length of the blue whale in males varies from 23 to 25 meters. The length of the blue whale in females ranges from 24 to 27 meters. The weight of the blue whale is as striking as its length. The weight of the blue whale ranges from 115 to 150 tons. Individuals that live in the Northern Hemisphere are a couple of meters smaller in size than those that live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Vision and sense of smell in a large blue whale are poorly developed. But his hearing and touch are well developed. The big blue whale has a huge lung capacity. The amount of blood in a large blue whale is over 8 thousand liters. The tongue of the blue whale weighs up to 4 tons. Despite such impressive figures, the blue whale has a narrow throat, its diameter is only 10 cm. The heart of the blue whale weighs a whole ton and is the largest heart in the entire animal world. At the same time, his pulse is usually 5-10 beats per minute and rarely exceeds 20 beats.

The skin of the blue whale looks smooth and even, except for the presence of stripes on the throat and belly. Blue whales almost do not overgrow with various crustaceans, which often settle on other whales in large numbers. The blue whale looks pretty monotonous. It has a predominantly gray skin color, with a blue tint. Sometimes the blue whale looks more grey, and it happens that its color has more blue tones. In a blue whale, the lower jaw and head are the darkest in color, the back is lighter, the sides and belly are the lightest on the whole body.

There are gray spots on the body of the blue whale, they have a different shape and size. By these spots, one or another whale can be distinguished. Thanks to this coloring, the blue whale looks like it is made of marble. In the tail part, the number of spots increases. The pectoral fins of the blue whale on the inside are much lighter in color than the rest of the body. However, the underside of the tail is much darker than the rest of the body. Through the water column, this whale looks completely blue, in connection with which the blue whale is called blue.

In cold waters, the color of the blue whale takes on a greenish tint, as the skin of this mammal is overgrown with microscopic algae, which form a film on its skin. The acquisition of this shade is characteristic of all baleen whales. As the whales return to warmer waters, this coating disappears.

Inside the mouth of this giant there are whalebone plates, about a meter long, which are composed of keratin. The longest whalebone plates are in the back rows, and in the front part their length decreases to 50 cm. These plates reach a width of about half a meter. One plate of whalebone can weigh up to 90 kg. In total, the blue whale has 800 plates on the upper jaw, 400 on each side. The blue whale's whisker has a deep black color. The plates of the whalebone are in the form of an inverted triangle, the top of which is crushed into a hair-like fringe, which is rather rough and hard.

There are three subspecies of the blue whale - northern, southern and pygmy, which are slightly different from each other. Sometimes another subspecies stands out - the Indian blue whale. The first two subspecies prefer cold circumpolar waters, while the rest inhabit mainly tropical seas. All subspecies have almost the same lifestyle. The life expectancy of a blue whale is quite large and can be 90 years old, the oldest of the whales was 110 years old. The average life span of blue whales is 40 years.

Previously, the blue whale's habitat was the entire world's oceans. At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of huge blue whales began to decline rapidly due to active fishing. The gigantic size of the carcass of the animal attracted whalers. Indeed, from one large blue whale one could get a lot of fat and meat. So by 1960, the blue whale was almost destroyed and was on the verge of complete extinction, there were no more than 5 thousand individuals left.

Now the big blue whale is still very rare - the total number of these animals is about 10 thousand individuals. The main threat to blue whales is the pollution of the seas and the disruption of their usual way of life. Also, the growth in the number of blue whales is affected by their slow natural reproduction.

The blue whale lives in the waters of many states and territories throughout our planet. Previously, the habitat of the blue whale occupied the entire oceans. Now the blue whale lives in different waters, depending on the subspecies. The northern and southern subspecies of blue whales live in cold waters. The southern subspecies is mainly found in cold subantarctic waters. Life in warmer waters is preferred by pygmy whales.

The animal blue whale rises very far to the north - southern blue whales have been seen off the coast of Chile, South Africa and Namibia. In the Indian Ocean, the blue whale lives in equatorial waters all year round. They are especially often seen near Ceylon and the Maldives, as well as in the Gulf of Aden and the Seychelles. These are the best places on the planet for those who want to see whales.

In the Pacific, blue whales are found off the coast of Chile. But off the coast from Costa Rica to California, they are absent. At the same time, blue whales are becoming numerous in the waters of California. The blue whale lives from the coast of Oregon to the Kuril Islands and to the Aleutian Ridge, but does not go far into the Bering Sea.

In the waters around Japan and Korea, great blue whales are now absent, but have been seen before. Blue whales are extremely rare in Russian waters. Small groups and solitary animals were seen near Cape Lopatka (the southernmost point of the Kamchatka Peninsula).

In the North Atlantic, blue whales are few in number compared to those in the Southern Hemisphere. In the North Atlantic, the blue whale lives off the coast of Canada, in areas between Nova Scotia and the Davis Strait.

Blue whales are found off Iceland and in the Danish Strait. Previously, the blue whale lived off the northwest coast of the British Isles, the Faroe Islands and off the coast of Norway. Occasionally, blue whales can be found off the coast of Spain and Gibraltar.

Blue whales are known to migrate. Whales spend their summers in the high latitudes of both hemispheres, but with the onset of winter, they migrate to warmer areas of low latitudes. The winter migrations of the blue whale in the North Atlantic are poorly understood. It is still unclear why blue whales always leave Antarctica by winter and move north to warmer waters. Despite the fact that the former place still has enough food.

This probably happens because females, at the birth of their cubs, tend to take them away from cold areas. Since the blue whale cubs have a poorly developed fat layer and therefore are not sufficiently protected from the cold. After all, a developed fat layer helps to maintain the body temperature of blue whales even in the coldest waters.

Blue whales live alone, sometimes in small groups. But even in groups they swim separately. Mammal blue whale is diurnal. The blue whale lives by using vocal signals to communicate with relatives. The sounds that the blue whale makes are infrasounds. They are very intense. Blue whales use infrasonic signals to communicate over long distances during migrations.

Blue whales are able to communicate using signals at a distance of up to 33 km. The voice of the blue whale is extremely loud. There are known cases of registration of a very intense voice of a blue whale at a distance of 200, 400 and even 1600 km. Also, the blue whale uses its signals to find a partner to create a family.

In general, the blue whale lives, showing the greatest tendency to loneliness than all other cetaceans. But sometimes blue whales live in small groups. In places where food is abundant, they can form conspicuous aggregations that divide into small groups. In these groups, blue whales are kept separately. But the total number of such concentrations of blue whales can reach 50-60 individuals.

The blue whale can dive quite deep. The blue whale is able to dive to a depth of 500 meters for up to 50 minutes. The usual dives of a blue whale that feeds are within 100-200 meters of depth. Such dives last from 5 to 20 minutes.

A feeding whale dives rather slowly. After surfacing, the whale's breathing accelerates, while it emits a fountain. When breathing is restored, the whale dives again. The blue whale in a calm state breathes up to 4 times per minute. Young whales breathe more often than adults. After a long deep dive, the blue whale makes a series of short dives and shallow dives. During this time, the whale swims 40-50 meters.

The blue whale looks quite imposing and impressive when it jumps out of the water. The most spectacular dives are the first after rising from the depths and the last before diving. The whale emerges, showing the very top of the head, then the back, dorsal fin and caudal peduncle.

When a blue whale dives to a depth, it strongly tilts its head down. When the head is already deep under water, a part of its back with a fin is shown on the surface, which always goes under the water last. The whale descends lower and lower until it hides under water without showing its tail. The blue whale lives by spending 94% of its time underwater.

On short distances, the blue whale can reach speeds of up to 37 km/h, and in some cases up to 48 km/h. But the whale cannot maintain such a speed for a long time, because this is too much load on the body. The whale produces up to 500 horsepower at this speed. A feeding blue whale moves slowly, within 2-6 km/h. But during migrations, its speed increases to 33 km/h.

Because the whale is so massive, adult blue whales have no natural predators. But juvenile blue whales can become victims of killer whale attacks. These predators in a flock drive the whale to a depth where it weakens from a lack of oxygen. Killer whales will be able to tear and eat a weakened animal.

There are currently no direct threats to the blue whale population. But there is a danger posed to them by long nets of 5 km. In such networks, a huge number of marine life die, although only one case of the death of blue whales in them is known. In other cases, according to fishermen, large blue whales easily overcame such nets. Off the coast of Western Canada, blue whales have many markings on their skin from various fishing gear.

Also, blue whales die in the Pacific Ocean from collisions with ships, the average is 1-2 cases per year. Some animals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have scars from ship collisions. This is due to the high concentration of blue whales combined with heavy shipping in these waters. Today, despite the protection of blue whales, even in the places of their greatest abundance, there are still no restrictions on navigation. There are only recommendations to slow down in these waters, which are not carried out by captains.

Now, however, the greatest threat to blue whales is posed by pollution of the seas, including oil products. Toxic chemicals that enter the sea accumulate in the fatty tissue of blue whales. It is especially dangerous when these substances accumulate in the body of females who are expecting the appearance of cubs.

Also, human impact affects the number of blue whales by disrupting their communications. The noise background of the sea has recently increased too much and the voice signals of large baleen whales are often muffled. After all, the noises that ships make have the same frequency as the voices of whales.

In this connection, it becomes more difficult for whales to navigate and search for relatives, which also makes it difficult to find a partner during the mating season. The greatest damage in this case is caused by the hydroacoustic systems of warships that operate in active mode.

The blue whale feeds on plankton, which is typical of baleen whales. The mammalian blue whale has an excellent filtering apparatus, which is formed by baleen plates.

The blue whale feeds on krill - this is the main food in its diet. Sometimes the blue whale feeds on larger crustaceans and small fish. But still, small crustaceans predominate in the composition of the blue whale's food. Mass accumulations of such crustaceans are called krill. Below in the photo you can see the accumulation of krill in the ocean.

Fish play a minor role in the diet of the blue whale. When ingesting masses of krill, the great blue whale may inadvertently ingest small fish, small squid and other marine animals. Sometimes the blue whale feeds on small crustaceans that are not krill.

The blue whale feeds in the same way as the rest of the minke whales. The whale slowly swims with its mouth open and draws water into it with a mass of small crustaceans. The whale's mouth is very stretched due to the stripes on the throat and the movable bones of the lower jaw. Having scooped up water with crustaceans, the whale closes its mouth. At the same time, the blue whale's tongue pushes water back through the whalebone. And the plankton that settled on the fringe of the mustache is swallowed.

The huge lower jaw, which is filled with water with food, becomes very heavy. Sometimes the weight is so heavy that it is difficult for the blue whale to move its jaw to close its mouth.

Therefore, the blue whale, picking up food in its mouth, to facilitate its closing, turns over on its side or back. In this position, the mouth closes itself under the influence of gravity.

Due to their size, the blue whale is forced to consume a lot of food - a blue whale can eat from 3 to 8 tons of krill per day. A blue whale needs about 1.5 tons of food per day.

The natural growth of the blue whale is very slow. The blue whale is the animal in which this process is the slowest among all baleen whales. Female blue whales produce offspring once every two years. This period may increase or decrease, it depends on the density of the population of blue whales. Unfortunately, it has declined in recent decades. The blue whale is a monogamous animal. Blue whales form long-lasting pairs. The male always keeps close to the female, both during pregnancy and after the appearance of the baby.

The duration of pregnancy in a female blue whale lasts about 11 months. Most often, one blue whale calf is born. A small giant is born 6-8 meters long and weighing 2-3 tons. Immediately after birth, a blue whale calf can move independently. The baby is born tail first. Females have a very developed maternal instinct, they are deeply attached to their cubs.

Blue whale calves accompanied by females begin to meet from December to March. Milk feeding in blue whale calves lasts about 7 months. During this time, the baby blue whale reaches up to 16 meters in length and weighs 23 tons.

A blue whale calf consumes up to 90 liters of milk per day. Reaching the age of 1.5 years, the baby blue whale grows up to 20 meters in length and 45-50 tons of weight. The milk of the female blue whale is very fatty and rich in protein. The fat content in it is from 37 to 50%.

Blue whales become capable of breeding offspring at the age of 8-10 years. Females by this age reach 23 meters and weigh about 90 tons. The blue whale reaches its full length and bodily maturity by the age of 15.

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From the order of cetaceans, related to baleen whales. The largest whale, the largest modern animal, and also probably the largest of all animals that have ever lived on Earth. Its length reaches 33 meters, and its mass can significantly exceed 150 tons.

Appearance and structure

The physique is proportional, the body is well streamlined. The head is convex laterally, but blunted in front. The breathing hole (breathing hole) is surrounded in front and on the sides by a roller, turning into a crest, which, gradually lowering, ends at the end of the snout. The eyes are small, set slightly behind and above the corner of the mouth. The length of the eye slit is 9–10 cm. The lower jaw is strongly curved to the sides; when the mouth is closed, the snout protrudes 15–30 cm forward. There are several dozen short (15 mm) hairs on the anterior part of the head and lower jaw, the number of which varies.

The miniature dorsal fin is set far back, its height is only about 30 cm and can have a variety of shapes (with a rounded end, triangular, etc.). The pectoral fins are narrow, pointed and somewhat shortened (1/7 - 1/8 of 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. There are 70-114 longitudinal skin "stripes" on the belly, 80 on average. The depth of the thoracic-abdominal stripes is up to 2 cm, the width is about 5-6 cm. The longest ones reach almost to the navel.

The body of the blue whale is dark gray, with a bluish tinge, mottled with light gray spots and a marbled pattern. The head, lower jaw and chin are one-colored. 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. The mass of the heart is more than half a ton. The diameter of the aorta reaches the diameter of a small bucket, and the lungs can hold up to 14 m3 of air.

Behavior and lifestyle

In general, the blue whale tends to be more alone than all other cetaceans. The blue whale does not form herds, it is predominantly a solitary animal, although sometimes blue whales form small groups consisting of 2-3 heads. Only in places with particularly abundant food can they form larger aggregations, dividing into smaller groups. In such groups, the whales are scattered, although the total number of such accumulations of blue whales reaches 50-60 heads.

The blue whale, swimming near the surface of the water, is nowhere near as agile as some other large cetaceans. In general, its movements are slower and, according to scientists, more clumsy than other minke whales. The activity of blue whales at night is poorly studied. Most likely, he leads a diurnal lifestyle - this is evidenced, for example, by the fact that whales off the coast of California almost stop moving at night.

The blue whale dives quite deep, especially if it is very frightened or injured. Data obtained by whalers using special devices mounted on a harpoon showed that a harpooned blue whale can dive up to 500 m, and according to American data, a whale can dive even up to 540 m. Normal dives of a feeding whale rarely exceed 200 m, and more often no deeper than 100 m. Such dives last from 5 to 20 minutes. A grazing whale dives rather slowly - it takes about 8 minutes to dive to 140 m and then resurface. After surfacing, the whale's breathing quickens up to 5-12 times per minute, and each time a fountain appears. Rapid breathing continues for 2-10 minutes, after which the whale dives again. The vomit, pursued by whalers, is under water much longer than usual, up to 50 minutes.

After a long and deep dive, the blue whale makes a series of 6-15 short dives and shallow dives. For each such dive, it takes him 6-7 seconds, for a shallow dive - 15-40 seconds. During this time, the whale manages to swim 40-50 m, shallow under the surface of the water. The highest dives in the series are the first after the rise from the depth and the last (before the dive). In the first case, the whale, slightly bending the body, shows first the very top of the head with the blowhole, then the back, the dorsal fin, and finally the caudal peduncle. Going to the depths, the blue whale strongly bends the body, tilting its head down, so that the highest point is the part of the back with a fin, which are shown when the head and front of the back are already deep under water. Then the “arc” of the back becomes lower and lower, and the whale hides without showing its tail. The tail fin of a diving blue whale rarely shows - in about 15% of diving cases. Blue whale sightings off the southern coast of California have shown that they spend 94% of their time underwater.

At a short distance, a blue whale can swim at speeds up to 37 km / h, and in exceptional cases even 48 km / h, but it cannot maintain such a speed for a long time, since this is too much stress on the body. At this speed, the whale develops power up to 500 horsepower. Grazing vomit moves slowly, 2-6 km / h, during migrations faster - even up to 33 km / h.

The blue whale breathes 1-4 times per minute in a calm state. Studies in the 1970s showed that the respiratory rate of blue whales (and minke whales in general) is highly dependent on the size and age of the whale. Young whales breathe much more often than adults - for example, when surfacing after a deep dive, the frequency of respiratory acts (inhale-exhale) in a blue whale 18 m long was 5-10 in 2 minutes, while in an adult 22.5-meter vomit - 7 -11 times in 12.5 minutes. Respiration rates for whales of this size that did not dive were 2-4 and 0.7-2 times per minute, respectively. An adult blue whale pursued by whalers breathed (gave a fountain) 3-6 times per minute.

Nutrition

The largest animal on earth consumes about 1 million calories a day. This is approximately 1 ton of krill, which is the main diet of the blue whale. In general, the blue whale is a typical plankton-eater: it feeds on crustaceans in the upper water column, plunging under water for 10-15 minutes. The crustaceans that it feeds on are concentrated in special zones, which are called feeding fields. In such places, you can meet several whales at once, although they usually do not gather in groups of more than 3 individuals.

Fish, if it plays any role in the diet of the blue whale, is very insignificant. Soviet sources indicated that the blue whale does not eat fish at all, other sources more specifically indicate that they still eat fish. Most likely, ingestion of fish and other small marine animals occurs by chance, when eating masses of krill. It is also possible that the eating of small schooling fish and small squid observed in the western Pacific Ocean is caused by the absence of large accumulations of planktonic crustaceans. In addition to a small number of small fish, small non-krill crustaceans were found in the stomach of the blue whale.

The blue whale feeds in the same way as the rest of the minke whales. A grazing whale swims slowly, opening its mouth and taking in water with a mass of small crustaceans. The stripes on the throat allow the whale's mouth to stretch very much, and the movable articulation of the bones of the lower jaw also greatly contributes to this. Having scooped up water with crustaceans, the whale closes its mouth and squeezes the water back through the whalebone with its tongue. In this case, the plankton settles on the mustache fringe and is then swallowed.

The huge lower jaw, filled with water and food, is so heavy that it is sometimes difficult for a blue whale to move it to close its mouth. Measurements of a 150-ton blue whale 29 m long showed that its mouth could hold 32.6 m³ of water. Therefore, often a blue whale, having gathered food in its mouth, turns over on its side or even on its back, and then the mouth slams itself shut under the influence of gravity. Due to its huge size, the blue whale is forced to consume a very large amount of food - according to various sources, it eats from 3.6 to 6-8 tons of krill per day, and it is estimated that the number of individual crustaceans in this mass reaches 40 million. In general , a blue whale needs to feed about 3-4% of its body weight per day. The aforementioned whale, with a mouth volume of 32.6 m³, could capture over 60 kg of crustaceans at a time at a normal density of krill in the ocean. A blue whale's stuffed stomach can hold up to a ton of food.

whale songs

Leading a solitary life of whales, whales have developed their own way of communication, with which they communicate with each other over vast distances up to 1600 km. These are the famous songs of whales, the volume of which reaches 188 decibels. The meaning of these songs is not fully understood, but scientists have noticed that whales "sing" during the breeding season, so it is possible that singing is somehow connected with the family functions of animals. These songs last up to half an hour.

At first, it was believed that only males sang, but there is evidence that female blue whales also sing for their babies. The sound-reproducing system in animals is located in the front of the head and serves as a lens that captures and reproduces sounds. Since whales are practically blind and have no sense of smell, sound is the only means of communication with other individuals, and the only way to contact the outside world. Therefore, whales are constantly busy analyzing the surrounding sounds.

Oceanographers have collected and analyzed thousands of recordings of blue whale "songs" that have been documented by various instruments over the past 45 years. It turned out that slowly but steadily, by fractions of a hertz per year, the tonal frequency of sound decreases. This happens regardless of the ocean where the animals live. But, for example, in most of the surveyed populations of whales living near California, the sound frequency of songs has decreased by 31% since 1965.

Among the possible reasons for this phenomenon, which experts consider in an article published in Endangered Species Research, is a reaction to a change in the composition of water in the ocean, as well as simply the desire of young whales to imitate the timbre of older ones, in which it decreases with age.

The most plausible and at the same time the most unfunny option is that due to the fatal decrease in the number of blue whales, they now need to send their “messages” more far, and low-frequency sounds, as you know, travel further in the ocean.

reproduction

The peak of mating in blue whales occurs in winter: in January - in the northern hemisphere and in July - in the southern hemisphere. The length of the body of newborns is from 6 to 8.8 m, more often 7-8 m, with a weight of 2-3 tons. A strong variation in the size of embryos obtained at the same time indicates that mating periods are extended for almost the entire year. An analysis of the size of embryos in Antarctic catches showed an average increase in their body by 35 cm in November, by 56 cm in December, by 72 cm in January, by 92 cm in February, and by 79 cm in March (Tomilin, 1957). Apparently, the growth rate of the embryos gradually increases, but by the end of uterine life, it slows down somewhat.

Pregnancy lasts a little less than a year (about 11 months). Usually one cub is born, cases of multiple pregnancies are rare. According to the International Whaling Statistics (ISS), among 12,106 Antarctic embryos, there were 77 cases of twins, five cases of triplets, one find with five and one with seven embryos. Of the twin embryos, as a rule, only one develops to the end, the rest die and are resorbed. During the 7-month lactation period, the cub, eating very fatty milk (34-50% fat), grows up to 16 m and weighs 23 tons, and at the age of 19 months reaches 20 m and weighs 45-50 tons; medium individuals (23.7-24 m) weigh 80-85 tons, and large ones (30 m) - 150-160 tons (Wheeler a. Mackintosh, 1929; Krogh, 1934; Ruud, 1956). Sexual maturity occurs at 4-5 years, as evidenced by 8-10 layers in the ear plugs, which determine the age. Females at this time reach a length of 23 m. They reach full growth and physical maturity at a body length of 26-27 m, which probably happens at 14-15 years.

The average daily weight gain of sucklings, according to zootechnical calculations (Tomilin, 1946), reaches 81.3 kg with a daily consumption of 90 kg of milk. Sexual maturity occurs at 4-5 years of age, when 8-10 layers appear in the ear plugs by which age is determined (Nishiwaki, 1957); at this time, the length of the southern females reaches an average of 2-3.78 m, the northern ones - 23 m, and the average weight of the testes of males - 10 kg (Ruud, 1950, 1957). Usually females breed every two years. A strong variation in the percentage of pregnant females among mature ones (from 20 to 61%: Laurie, 1937; Ottestad a. Ruud, 1936) depends on the accuracy of registration of embryos at whaling bases and on the number of individuals studied (large deviations are possible with smaller material).

Females reach physical maturity when 11-12 scars of the corpus luteum accumulate in the ovaries; this happens at 14-15 years of age, and possibly at an even older age, with an average body length of 26.2 m (Laurie, 1937), 26.5 m (Brinkmann, 1948) and 26.67 m (Peters, 1939 ). The minimum size of physically mature Antarctic females was set at 24.7 m, and for males - 22.3 m. . Only 25 scars were found in the oldest female in the North Pacific (Omura, 1955).

population

The initial number of blue whales, before the start of their intensive fishing, was estimated at 215 thousand heads. 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; they affected only certain areas. The fishery was completely banned in 1966, but the ban on fishing, however, did not immediately affect the blue pygmy whales, which continued to be harvested as early as the 1966-1967 season.

The current population of blue whales is difficult to estimate. The reason, perhaps, is that blue whales have not been studied very actively for decades - for example, according to authoritative sources in 1984, the International Whaling Commission has practically not counted the number of these whales since the mid-1970s. In 1984, it was reported that no more than 1900 blue whales lived in the Northern Hemisphere, and about 10 thousand in the Southern Hemisphere, half of which were dwarf subspecies.

According to some data, there are now between 1,300 and 2,000 blue whales in the entire world ocean, but in this case, the number of these whales is even lower than 40 years ago, despite the complete absence of fishing. Other sources give more optimistic figures: 5-10 thousand vomits in the Southern Hemisphere and 3-4 thousand in the Northern Hemisphere. The question of the quantitative distribution of the world population of blue whales in individual areas is also not fully clarified.

A number of sources indicate that from 400 to 1400 blue whales live in the Southern Hemisphere, about 1480 in the North Pacific Ocean, while the number of blue whales in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is unknown. Regarding the Southern Hemisphere (more precisely, the Southern Ocean), other figures are also indicated: 1700 heads with a 95% probability that this number is between the two extreme values ​​\u200b\u200bof 860 and 2900. At the same time, according to the International Whaling Commission, 6 herds live in the Southern Hemisphere blue whales. Whales of the southern subspecies, which became the main object of attention of whalers in the twentieth century, according to estimates in 2007, only 3% of the population of 1914 remain.

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 tended to increase throughout the 1980s. However, the same study concludes that there is no data on population growth in the Pacific Ocean as a whole. There are legitimate fears that the blue whale population may never recover to its original abundance.

Whales are very smart animals. Their incredible intelligence and friendly nature have made whales very popular and interesting animals for science. Scientists generally believe that the brain of whales is more similar in its capabilities to the human than the brain of any other animal.

Some features of the structure of whales are very interested in physicians. So whales do not have brain hemorrhages, due to the fact that in their heart there is a special shunt that connects two large arteries, which provides reliable protection against blockage of blood vessels, and as a result, from heart attacks.

The whale eye is also of interest to scientists. Firstly, because in it the size allows you to see what cannot be seen in the eye of a person or other animal. Secondly, the blue whale can dive underwater to great depths, and the structure of its eye is such that it can withstand enormous pressures. Having learned this secret, a person will help patients with glaucoma associated with impaired intraocular pressure.