The largest animal in the world, in our time, is the blue or blue whale.

Back in the twenties of the XX century in Antarctica - Southern Scotland, they caught a female blue whale 33 meters long and, judging by the size, weighing more than 150 tons - this is more than the weight of 50 elephants combined.

A blue whale 30 meters long entered the Panama Canal around the same time period. In June 1964, the same giant was caught off the Aleutian Islands - 30 meters in length and weighing 135 tons.

Description and lifestyle of the blue whale

According to statistics, the average size of a blue whale in the northern hemisphere is about 22.8 meters for males, 23.5 meters for females. Whales living in the Southern Hemisphere are usually slightly larger than their northern counterparts.

The body of the whale is dark gray or blue with a bluish tint, oddly enough, the skin of the whale is gray with a blue tint. On the body there is a pattern in the form of huge spots. Each whale has its own special pattern on the skin, like fingerprints. They can identify a specific individual. If you look at the whale from above, through the water column, it appears blue. This explains the name of the animal.

There are more spots on the back half of the body and on the ventral part, and slightly less on the back and front half. The dorsal fin of a blue whale is small in size - about 1% of the body length and set back. The head is wide - when viewed from above, with convex edges to the sides. The heart of a blue whale weighs more than 500 kg, the lungs can hold up to 14 m3 of air, and the diameter of the dorsal aorta reaches the diameter of a ten-liter bucket.

In summer, blue whales are mostly found in the waters of the Antarctic, North Atlantic, Bering and Chukchi Seas. In tropical latitudes, it is practically not found.

There are very few blue whales left anywhere. They live in small isolated families, most often separately from other relatives.

In 1959, near the islands of Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen and Heard - in the southern hemisphere, a herd of pygmy blue whales - pygmies was discovered. This herd numbered about 10,000 individuals. These whales are 3 meters shorter than normal Antarctic blue whales, have a shorter tail and are lighter in color.

According to the observations of zoologists, it became clear that pygmies do not migrate to warm waters - the spotting of pygmies, which appears after visiting warm waters, is weakly expressed, which means that they could be formed from North Atlantic settlers - the tail of pygmies is also short, like that of Newfoundland blue whales.

Thus, three subspecies of blue whales are distinguished: northern, southern and pygmies.

The blue whale feeds on plankton, but does not eat fish. The stomach holds up to 2 tons of crustaceans.

These whales breed offspring every two years - mainly in winter, in warm waters. Pregnancy lasts approximately 11 months. Babies are born weighing about 2-3 tons and a body length of about 8 meters.

Female mothers feed their cubs for approximately 7 months. During this time, the growth doubles - 16 meters, and the weight is about ten times - 23 tons. Already a year, a small blue whale weighs 45-50 tons and has a body 20 meters long.

Most often, a blue whale in the process of hunting swims at a speed of 11-15 km / h, but in exceptional cases it can reach speeds of up to 33-40 km / h. But the blue whale can swim so fast for a very short time.

Often people find carcasses of dead whales washed ashore. Scientists still do not know the reasons why whales are washed ashore.

In museums around the world, those who wish can see the skeletons of these amazing creatures. Which even in this form are striking in their gigantic size. Alas, at the moment a large number of whales have been knocked out, so they are still endangered. Also, these marine giants may not survive large changes in climate.

Whale, and not ordinary, but blue (Balaenoptera musculus). It is a mammal and belongs to the family of minke whales, leading the suborder of baleen whales. The body is dominated by a dark gray color, which becomes lighter towards the ventral part. However, it is impossible not to pay attention to the rich blue hue, which served as the main reason that this whale began to be called blue. In addition, a light gray or marble pattern is visible on the body, which often has bright white spots.

The blue whale is a rare unique animal that has been practically exterminated over the past centuries. It is for this reason that over the past century, hunting for it has been banned in almost all oceans, as well as in Antarctica.

Basic data

The largest whale on earth is blue. It has up to four hundred pairs of dark black triangular plates on each side of the jaw, which can be up to one meter long. The fringe of his mustache, like the palate, is black. In its structure, it is rough and thick and can reach 40-45 mm. The palate is narrowed in the anterior part and intersected by a single longitudinal furrow. The dorsal fin is located in the back of the body, and due to its small size, it helps the blue whale to successfully maneuver at high speed, even despite its impressive size. At the same time, the pectoral fins, which perform similar functions, on the contrary, are elongated. They can reach more than 10% of the entire body length of the blue whale.

Despite the fact that these whales are the largest representatives of their kind, there are individuals among them that are truly impressive in their size. So, the largest blue whale reached a length of 33.27 m and weighed 176.762 tons. It was caught near the South Shetland Islands. The average length of male blue whales is 24 meters. At the same time, individuals living in the northern hemisphere are slightly larger - 28 meters. On average, their body weight reaches 120 tons.

At the same time, hidden grace is visible in his appearance. The head, despite a significant convexity, is slightly blunted in front. The respiratory opening is surrounded by a roller, smoothly turning into a crest, the height of which gradually decreases.

Structural features

The palpebral fissure of the blue whale does not exceed 10 cm, due to which they remain almost invisible against its general background. They are located slightly behind and above the corners of the mouth. The lower jaw is strongly curved to the sides, when the mouth is closed, it protrudes beyond the upper jaw by more than 20-25 cm. At the same time, the anterior part of the head and the lower jaw bear many short hairs, the number of which varies, and the length does not exceed 15 mm.

The length of the throat-abdominal stripes ranges from 70 to 120 cm. Their width does not exceed six centimeters. The longest of them can reach almost to the navel.

Like most individuals who prefer to live at great depths, the largest whale in the world, the photo of which is given in this article, has a fatty layer, which not only acts as a reserve source of nutrients, but also protects the body from hypothermia, maintaining a comfortable temperature. At the same time, the thickness of their blubber (tissue filled with fat) on the lateral parts of the body near the tail is only twenty centimeters.

Distinctive features

The largest whale (blue) is divided into three main types:

• dwarf;
• northern;
• southern.

At the same time, despite the fact that outwardly they practically do not differ, each of these species prefers water with different temperature indicators - from icy to tropical.

The internal organs of the blue whale fully correspond to its impressive size: the liver weighs almost a ton, the heart - up to three tons, several tons of food are placed in its stomach at once, and the open mouth is about 24 meters in area, as a result of which the hunting process is greatly simplified.

Food

Despite its impressive size, the blue whale cannot be called the most dangerous aquatic predator, because it has no teeth at all. It eats all kinds of living creatures, the size of which does not exceed 6 cm. In most cases, its daily diet consists of crustaceans and small fish that fall into the mouth in the process of hunting for crustaceans.

Since the length of the blue whale's head is about 1/3 of the length of its body, it is not surprising that its mouth resembles a huge container, consisting of many horny plates. It was they who received the name of the whalebone, the fishery for which was previously widespread. They grow in the sky and in their structure represent the likeness of a sieve. Having opened it, it swims at high speed through the places of accumulation of prey, after which, closing its mouth, it forcefully pushes water through the structure of the whalebone with its tongue, as a result of which all the food remains in the mouth, and the water is pushed out through a special hole in the upper back.

reproduction

Sexual maturity in the blue whale occurs between 4 and 6 years of age. By this time, females reach a length of 23-25 ​​meters.

The largest whale in the world bears its cub for one year. A newborn blue whale, on average, reaches a length of about 7 meters and weighs several tons.

Due to the fact that the largest whale is also one of the fastest growing animals, by the end of the first year of life, the weight of its cub reaches 25-30 tons. The main source of nutrition for the baby during this period is mother's milk, the daily norm of which is approximately 100 liters. In addition, it is noteworthy that in the event that the mother wants to praise the cub, she touches him with the tip of her nose, thereby proving once again that despite the fact that in the course of evolution they began to live under water, blue whales still remain mammals.

Habitat

The largest whale in the world (photos allow you to imagine its power) prefers to live alone or in small family groups. It is found in the waters of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, however, as a result of whaling, their numbers have decreased so much that they can be seen extremely rarely.

Previously, they were found in almost all oceans, but today they are most often seen in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, as well as in areas of tropical islands.

At the same time, they are almost impossible to meet in tropical waters. For wintering, whales go to European latitudes, and spend the summer in Antarctica.

Biological features

Despite the fact that the largest whale (blue) lives in the water and looks like a fish in outline, it is a mammal. As a result of the many millennia that blue whales spent in the water, they became like fish in their shape, but their lifestyle and body structure remained similar to land animals.

The largest whale, whose photos are simply mesmerizing, feeds its cubs, which are born alive and do not go through the stages of formation inherent in fish, with mother's milk. Newborns for a sufficiently long period remain close to their mother, who takes care of them.

In addition, in the structure of the blue whale there are certain features that allow it to be attributed to mammals. For example, the fins, which have an internal structure, resemble a human hand, and on the body of some individuals there are even bones in those places where the hind legs are located in land animals.

The uniqueness of blue whales

The largest whale (blue) is found almost anywhere in the world - from the Arctic to the Antarctic, but there are so few individuals left that they need constant human protection. Over the past centuries, they were mercilessly exterminated for the sake of fat and valuable whalebone, as a result of which they were almost completely destroyed. Despite a strict ban on catching this unique animal, a significant increase in the number of blue whales has not yet been recorded.

The whale is a sea monster. In the truest sense of the word. After all, this is how the Greek word is translated, from which the name of this amazing animal came - κῆτος. A lot can be said about marine life belonging to the order of cetaceans. But it is worth dwelling on the most interesting facts.

Name

The first step is to answer the question that worries many. And it sounds like this: “Is the whale a fish or a mammal?” The second option is correct.

The whale is a large marine mammal that is not related to either porpoises or dolphins. Although they are included in the order Cetacea (cetaceans). In general, with the names it turns out a very interesting situation. Pilot whales and killer whales, for example, are considered whales. Although in accordance with the strict official classification, they are dolphins, which few people know about.

And it is better to trust a strict classification, since whales in the old days were called leviathans - sea many-headed monsters that could swallow the planet. In a word, an entertaining story behind the name.

Origin

Well, above was the answer to the question "Is a whale a fish or a mammal?" Now we can talk about the types of these creatures.

To begin with, it is worth noting that all whales are descendants of land mammals. And those who belonged to the artiodactyl groups! This is not fiction, but a scientifically proven fact, which was established after molecular genetic examinations. There is even a monophyletic group (clade) that combines whales, hippos and all artiodactyls. All of them are whale-toed ungulates. According to research, whales and hippos descended from the same creature that lived on our planet about 54 million years ago.

Detachments

So, now - about the types of whales. Or rather, about suborders. The first species is baleen whales. They are the largest of modern mammals. Their physiological feature is a mustache with a filter-like structure.

The second species is toothed whales. Carnivorous, fast creatures. They are superior to toothless whales. Only the sperm whale can compare with them in size. And their feature, as you might have guessed, is the presence of teeth.

And the third species is ancient whales. The ones that no longer exist. They belong to the paraphyletic group of animals from which modern species of whales later descended.

Anatomical features

Now it is worth considering the description of the whale from a physiological point of view. This animal is a mammal, and warm-blooded. Accordingly, each whale breathes with the help of lungs, and females feed their cubs with milk. And these creatures have hair, albeit reduced.

Since these mammals are exposed to the sun, their skin is protected from ultraviolet rays. True, each species expresses it differently. The blue whale, for example, can increase the content of special pigments in its skin that absorb radiation (in simple terms, it "tans"). The sperm whale defends itself against oxygen radicals by triggering a "stress response". The fin whale practices both methods.

By the way, these creatures maintain their warm-bloodedness due to the presence of a thick fat layer under the skin. It is he who protects the internal organs of marine animals from hypothermia.

Oxygen uptake process

It is also interesting to talk about how whales breathe. These mammals can be under water for at least 2 minutes and a maximum of 40. However, there is also a record holder, and he is a sperm whale, which is able to stay under water for 1.5 hours.

The external nostrils of these creatures are located at the top of the head. They have special valves that reflexively close their airways when the whale dives into the water. At the moment of resurfacing, they open. It is important to know that the airway does not connect to the esophagus. So the whale absorbs air safely, without harm to itself. Even if there is water in his mouth. And by the way, speaking about how whales breathe, it is worth noting that they do it quickly. Shortened bronchi and trachea contribute to speed. By the way, their lungs are very powerful. In one breath, the whale renews the air by 90%. A person - only 15%.

It is worth noting that a column of condensed vapor comes out through the nostrils (also called a blowhole) at the moment of emerging. The same fountain, which is the visiting card of whales. This is due to the fact that the whale exhales warm air from itself, which comes into contact with the outside (cold). So the fountain is the result of temperature exposure. The column of steam in different whales differs in height and shape. The most impressive are the "fountains" of large mammals. They come out of their blowhole with such tremendous power that the process is accompanied by a loud trumpet sound. In good weather it can be heard from the shore.

Food

A few words should be said about what whales eat. The diet of animals is varied. Toothed whales, for example, eat fish, cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish), and in some cases mammals.

Mustachioed representatives feed on plankton. They absorb a huge volume of crustaceans, filtering it from the water or with the help of a mustache. These animals can also eat small fish.

The most interesting thing is that in winter the whales hardly eat. And for this reason, in the summer they continuously absorb food. This approach helps them accumulate a thick layer of fat.

By the way, they need a lot of food. Large whales consume about three tons of food per day.

Bright representative

The blue whale deserves special attention. This is the largest animal that has ever existed on our planet. In length, it reaches 33 meters, and weighs about 150 tons.

By the way, the blue whale is a representative of the baleen suborder. Feeds on plankton. He has a well-developed filtering apparatus, due to which he filters the absorbed mass inside.

There are three subspecies of this animal. There is a dwarf, southern and northern whale. The last two live in cold circumpolar waters. Dwarf is found in tropical seas.

It is believed that blue whales live for about 110 years. In any case, so many were the most adult individuals encountered by people.

Unfortunately, the blue whale is not such a common marine life. In the 20th century, uncontrolled hunting was opened for these animals. By the middle of the last century, only 5 thousand individuals remained in the world. Humans have done a terrible deed, exterminating them. Emergency security measures were taken. At the moment, the number of individuals has doubled, but blue whales are still at risk.

Beluga whale

This is a representative of toothed whales of the narwhal family. Beluga is not very big. Its mass reaches only 2 tons, and its length is 6 meters. Beluga whales have excellent hearing, acute perception of any sounds, as well as the ability to echolocation. In addition, these are social creatures - there are cases in which these whales saved a person. In aquariums, they get along well, eventually get used to people, and even become attached to workers.

Their diet is varied. Beluga whales eat cod, flounder, herring, molluscs, algae, shrimp, lampreys, rib jellyfish, pink salmon, gobies, blennies, crayfish and many other marine life suitable for food.

These creatures, like many others, also suffered because of human cruelty. The whalers easily drove them to the shallows, and the beluga whales literally broke. But at the moment this species is gradually recovering its numbers. Let's just hope people don't mess things up.

There are dozens of other representatives of cetaceans, and all of them are special and interesting in their own way. And I would like to hope that every species that we know will be preserved. The marine world should not lose any of them, because each of them is a real miracle and natural value.

Whales are very peculiar mammals, which, due to their constant life in the water, are more like fish. This group of animals has a characteristic appearance and at the same time has achieved considerable diversity. Whales make up a separate order of cetaceans, but this term is collective. Usually, this word means large species, small cetaceans have other names (dolphins, porpoises).

Humpback whale, or humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).

The most striking distinguishing feature of these animals is their size. Indeed, all types of whales are simply giants of the animal world. Even the smallest species (dwarf sperm whales, for example) reach a length of 2-3 m and a weight of 400 kg, and most species are 5-12 m long and weigh several tons. The largest species - the blue whale - reaches a length of 33 m and weighs 150 tons! It is several times larger than even the largest dinosaurs. The blue whale is the largest of all living creatures that have ever inhabited our planet!

All types of whales are characterized by an elongated streamlined body, a very short, inactive neck and a large head. Head size can vary greatly between species: in small whales, it is 1/5 of the body length, in large baleen whales, its size can reach 1/4, and in sperm whales, the head is 1/3 of the body. According to the structure of the teeth, two suborders of whales are distinguished - baleen and toothed. Baleen whales have no teeth at all, they are replaced by giant horny plates that hang down in their mouths like a fringe. They are called whalebone.

Whalebone in the whale's mouth.

Toothed whales have teeth, their shape and size varies from species to species. The structure of the jaws can also be different: in baleen whales, the lower jaw is much larger than the upper and similar to a bucket, in toothed whales, on the contrary, the upper jaw is larger or equal in size to the lower. Such differences are associated with the nature of the diet of these animals.

On the head of a humpback whale, the difference in the size of the upper and lower jaws is clearly visible.

The brain size of whales is relatively large, but this is primarily due to the development of the parts of the brain responsible for hearing. Whales, like dolphins, have perfect echolocation abilities, they emit sounds of various frequencies and, by their reflection (echo), they orient themselves in space, find food and communicate with each other. Just like dolphins, whales are subject to an incomprehensible pathology - they can periodically be washed ashore. Animals do this unconsciously (the ability of whales to commit suicide is nothing more than a stupid prejudice), but with such persistence that scientists are still scratching their heads over the reason for such strange behavior. Animals that have washed ashore are not always old or sick, moreover, sometimes they can be returned to the sea through the efforts of rescuers. Most likely, the root cause of such death is disturbances in the operation of the echo sounder caused by numerous radio sources (all modern navigation uses powerful sources and repeaters of radio waves). Such electromagnetic "noise" in the ocean confuses the giants and they approach the shores, moreover, accustomed to trusting their feelings, the whales stubbornly strive in the "right" direction until they run aground. Other sense organs in whales are poorly developed: the sense of smell is in its infancy, and vision is also rather weak.

On the top of the head is a breathing hole - blowhole. In more primitive baleen whales, it consists of two holes (“nostrils”), in toothed whales there is one hole. Interestingly, during exhalation, moist air from the lungs creates a kind of fountain, and its shape depends on the type of whale.

A blowhole with two nostrils on the head of a gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus).

The limbs of whales are very unusual. The front ones have turned into flattened fins, and their size can vary greatly in different species. For example, the fins of the belt-teeth and sperm whales are small, and they reach the greatest development in the humpback whale.

The long fins of the humpback whale under water resemble wings.

But the whales have no hind limbs at all, in their place in the lumbar spine there are only two small bones, to which the muscles of ... the genital organs are attached. The powerful double tail creates the driving force in the body of the whale, but these are not modified hind legs, as some believe.

The powerful tail is used by whales for movement and protection.

The coloration of whales is varied, but discreet. More often their body has a dark upper side and a lighter lower side, in some species (Bride's minke whale) there may be clearly visible stripes on the underside of the head. Species such as blue, gray whales, sperm whales have a uniform color of gray or brown.

The white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) gets its name from its rare white skin color.

Whales are distributed throughout all the oceans (and some seas) of the globe. They are found only in deep waters, as a rule they do not enter bays, estuaries and similar shallow places. Usually, whales move freely in the ocean, but their movement is not chaotic. Each species of whale has a favorite breeding ground that they visit during a particular season. The rest of the time, whales fatten up, but they do it in areas remote from breeding grounds. Thus, whales make migrations with a cycle of 1 year. During feeding, the whales swim at a speed of 10-20 km/h, but in case of danger they switch to a cruising speed of 50 km/h. Adult males and non-breeding females keep alone, females with cubs, as well as all animals during the breeding season form herds of 5-15 individuals. A peaceful situation reigns inside the herd: whales do not have an internal hierarchy, they do not show aggression towards each other, in case of danger, all members of the herd try to defend themselves by joint efforts, there are even cases of mutual assistance to wounded brethren. In general, whales, with their huge size and sluggishness, give the impression of stupid and uninteresting animals. But this is a misconception! These peculiar animals are endowed with a developed intellect and are not inferior to dolphins in intelligence. For example, there are cases when whales showed interest in underwater photographers filming them - animals approached people and even tried to play with them in their own way, pushing them to the surface. Another example: whalers tracked down a female whale with a calf and killed the latter. The carcass of the whale was transported to the place of butchering in tow. All this time, the female swam nearby and tried to remove the corpse of the cub from the rope. Captive whales in captivity quickly get used to people and are able to perform tricks (to the best of their physical abilities). Like all highly developed animals, whales love to play, while they jump high out of the water and beat their tails loudly.

Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).

Whales feed on various marine animals, and there is a narrow specialization in the nutrition of different species. Baleen whales eat only plankton - the smallest marine crustaceans. They get it by filtering large volumes of water. To do this, the whale opens its mouth and draws water into its mouth ...

Humpback whales act like a scoop with their open mouth.

then, with his tongue, he pushes the water out of his mouth like a piston - the water flows freely through the whalebone, and the crustaceans remain.

The whale strains water with plankton.

Toothed whales feed on fish, which are also caught not individually, but in whole flocks. Sperm whales specialize in catching deep-sea fish and shellfish (mainly squid). Many whales make long dives for hunting, they can stay under water for up to 1.5 hours. The record holders for the depth of diving are sperm whales, which were met at a depth of 1 km!

Whales are very infertile animals. Females reach puberty by 7-15 years, males - only by 15-25. Moreover, each individual participates in reproduction no more than once every 2 years. In the mating ritual of whales, not only is there no aggression, but in general any kind of struggle. Male whales win the attention of females with songs! The voice of whales is surprisingly thin for animals of this size. Each species of whale has its own set of sounds, but even individuals of the same species differ in tone of voice. The song of the whale resembles a melodic moan and sounds very loud. According to divers, when the whale sings, the water column vibrates around. Female whales can mate with several males, since there is no fight between the stronger sex, selection occurs in a very unusual way. It turns out that the gonads of whales are huge (in sperm whales, for example, up to 10-20% of body weight) and are capable of producing large amounts of sperm. Thus, among several males mated with one female, the one whose hormonal status is higher wins. Pregnancy in various species lasts 11-18 months. The female gives birth to only one cub, but large and developed. For example, the weight of a newborn blue whale is 2-3 tons. The calf is born tail first and with the help of the mother rises to the surface for the first breath. The mother often feeds the cub with very fatty milk, thanks to which it grows rapidly. The lactation period in whales is relatively short - 5-7 months. During this time, the cub manages to grow 2 times, then its growth slows down sharply. For another 1.5-2 years, the cub accompanies its mother, using her protection. In small and medium-sized whales, young are kept in herds until they reach sexual maturity, and sometimes even later. Whales live 50-70 years.

Blue whale calf (Balaenoptera musculus).

It would seem that nothing can threaten such gigantic animals in this world. In reality, whales are very vulnerable to various dangers. In the ocean, whales have no enemies, except for ... their own brethren. Killer whales (giant predatory dolphins often referred to as whales) attack other cetacean species. Killer whales live in groups and act collectively, so even adult whales can hardly resist their coordinated attack, and the cubs are completely defenseless. When attacked, the whales try to escape by “flight”, swimming away from the herd of killer whales at high speed. If it was not possible to break away from the pursuit, the whale tries to fight off the attackers with strong blows of the tail, the mother swims under the cub from below, trying to cover it with her body.

But even in the absence of predators, whales have enough problems. Sometimes these animals experience… hunger. Mass fishing, global warming, changing sea currents undermine the food base of whales and animals can drift for several weeks in "barren" waters. Researchers have seen extremely emaciated animals. In the Arctic Ocean, whales often get caught in ice traps. Since whales breathe air, they are forced to surface regularly to replenish their supplies. If there are no suitable polynyas around, the whales break through the thickness of the ice with their heads, but they do not always succeed. With a large thickness of ice (or a small width of the polynya), entire herds of whales suffocate under the ice.

Minke whale in the Antarctic ice.

To top it all off, whales are actively hunted by people. Despite their impressive size (or rather, thanks to them), whales are attractive prey for fishing. There are no useless parts in the carcass of a whale, everything is used: fat (blubber), meat, whalebone, teeth, skin. Sperm whales are suppliers of very exotic products - spermaceti and ambergris. Spermaceti, despite the name, is not whale sperm at all, but a fat-like substance from the brain. Ambergris is found in the intestines, it has a pleasant smell, for which it got its name. Both substances are very valuable raw materials in the cosmetic industry and are extremely highly valued on the world market.

As a result of the impact of adverse factors, the number of almost all species of whales has greatly decreased, many species are on the verge of extinction. In this regard, the World Convention on the Prohibition of Whaling was adopted (especially since whaling products have lost their relevance in our time). The only country that has not signed the convention is Japan. Japanese whalers still carry out mass hunting of all whales indiscriminately, justifying themselves by the fact that whale meat is ... a traditional component of Japanese cuisine. On the other hand, tourism in whale breeding areas has gained wide popularity. Nature lovers visit such places on small boats, for the opportunity to watch whales live and hear their songs, queues line up for tour operators. Attempts to keep whales in captivity run into many obstacles: large species of whales cannot be kept because of their size, baleen whales cannot be fed with plankton, it is very difficult to catch an adult whale without killing it. Repeated attempts to catch the cubs led to the death of the babies at the stage of transportation. Only the smallest species of whales (beluga whales, pilot whales) take root in aquariums, but they do not breed there. Perhaps the only way to preserve these unique animals is the widespread ban on their production and the comprehensive protection of water resources.

The carcass of a beached blue whale is cut up for further scientific research.

Everyone has long known that the largest animal in the world is the blue whale, or it is also called the blue whale.

(Photo of blue whale #1)

A huge mammal can hold up to 2 tons of food at one meal, and a blue whale can be up to 34 meters long. BUT how many tons does the blue whale weigh, this size? Of the baleen whales, the blue whale is the largest, and it weighs about 150 tons as an adult, the same weight as 2,400 people. Now imagine how much his insides weigh! The tongue of this giant weighs 3 tons, and its heart is so large that even a child can crawl through it and the heart of a blue whale weighs 700 kg. See. photo #1. This heart pumps about 10 tons of blood through the huge body of the blue whale.

(Photo of blue whale #2)

(Photo of blue whale #3)

How much does the Gangetic dolphin weigh? – 90 kg

How much does a guinea pig weigh? – 120 kg

How much does a beaked whale weigh? - 1-1.5 tons

How much does the Maui Dolphin weigh? - 40 kg

How much does Beluga whale weigh? - 2 tons

How much does the Amazon Dolphin weigh? – 10-205 kg

How much does Narwhal weigh? - 1.5 tons

Weight of whales with whiskers.

How much does the northern right whale weigh? – 40-70 tons

How much does a bowhead whale weigh? - 75-100 tons

How much does Striped Bride weigh? - 16-25 tons

How much does Kit Seville weigh? - 30 tons

How much does the southern right whale weigh? – 80 tons

How much does a gray whale weigh? - 15-35 tons

How much does a minke whale weigh? – 5 tons

How much does Fin whale weigh? - 40-70 tons

How much does a humpback whale weigh? - 48 tons

Watching noble animals - whales, we admire their size, weight and grace of movement in the water, involuntarily asking ourselves the question, how could a faceless, unreasonable nature come up with and create such a miracle? Whales are the masterpiece of Someone, highly intelligent and omnipotent, who sculpted these beautiful sea creatures.