The Blue Whale (Sulpher Bottom) Josh Stolz

Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Family: Balaenopteridae Genus: Balaenoptera Species: Musculus

Physical Characteristics Biggest moving and living organism on Earth Length of an adult: about 85-100 feet long. About 20 people would equal the length of one Blue Whale. Can weigh up to approximately 200 tons. About 1400 people put together would make up one Blue Whale. Tail is about 25 feet long from tip to tip. The Female is slightly larger than the male in almost every way. Biggest Blue Whale ever recorded was about 110 feet long. No torpor or hibernation

Habitat and Distribution The Blue Whale lives in every Ocean, but is very rare within its areas of living. Lives in cold and temperate waters or tropical and coastal areas.

Behavior Generally lives alone or in pairs. May live in loose pods for short times during mating season. A true example of a gentle giant.

Diet Mainly eats small shrimp-like creatures called krill. Eats about 4 tons of krill per day. Also can eat small fish if especially hungry or can’t find krill to eat Does not have teeth, so it uses baleen, a fingernail-like material, to trap food in its mouth to swallow later.

Conservation Status = Currently listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List Only about 10,000-25,000 left from over 375,000 before hunting and pollution. The population is increasing.  Under protection by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Breeding Mating Season is all year, but mostly in the Summer. Females will mate with only 1 male per 9-12 months, but males with multiple females. Females will take 9-12 months to give birth after mating. Females have 1 calf per litter.

Parental Care Blue Whale calves are taken care of by their moms. The dad does not care for the calf at all. Blue whale calves are about 15 meters long at birth. Calves will stay with their mothers for about 2-3 years before going out on their own.

Predator/Prey Relationships Can be preyed on by Great White Sharks and Pods of Orcas (Killer Whales). Not that many other creatures prey on the Blue Whale due to its size, but may be attacked by other sharks if the sharks are starving.

Human Relationships Were once hunted for food, blubber, and wax. Over 350,000 Blue Whales were killed in the 1900’s. Can get hit by large boats and caught in nets and drown. Pollution has killed and is killing many of these creatures, so do anything you can NOT to pollute our waters or air.

Longevity and Mortality A Blue Whale will generally live for 80 to 90 years in the wild. The longest living Blue Whale ever discovered was about 110 years old. Males mature at about just under 5 years old while females mature at about 6 years old.

Fun Facts There are no Blue Whales in captivity. You can tell how old one is by seeing how many layers of skin it has in its ear. A Blue Whales stomach is yellow because of millions and millions of microorganisms that live just under its thick skin.

Works Cited Works Cited Best-Diving. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2013. <http://best-diving.org/images/Adrenaline_DivingWall/diving%20blue%20whale.jpg>. Blue Whales. N.p.: VoyageurPress, n.d. Print. National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/blue-whale/>. Tumbler Incline. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2013. <http://media.tumblr.com/bcc55492554dd5106feefa4cb0342aa3/tumblr_inline_mhclhpHIsW1qz4rgp.jpg>. WhaleFacts.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.whalefacts.org/blue-whale-facts/>. Wild Blue. New York: N.p., n.d. Print.

THE END!!! 