The content of the article
Blue whale - an animal known around the world as the largest marine inhabitant. Dimensions of adults in length can reach 30 meters. Interestingly, in this species, 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 declined very much. However, a ban was later introduced on the destruction of blue whales, due to which the number of these animals began to increase markedly.
Appearance characteristic
Blue whale, despite its name, still does not have a completely blue tint. Its upper part is quite motley and consists of a mixture of gray and blue colors. From below, this marine creature, as a rule, has a light gray tint or yellow-white color. Yellow in the abdominal region of the whale is attached to the microscopic size of algae, which are located on it as growths. These algae are called diatoms. The main distribution of plants was in oceanic waters of a rather low temperature.
Today, according to official sources, the largest individual that has ever been caught is a female whale 23.58 meters long. 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, also causes surprise. The beating of such an apparatus can be heard even three kilometers away. 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 less in length than other species of blue whales.
Blue whales can also be attributed to animals that make the loudest sounds. The strength and volume of the sounds they make reaches 188 decibels. This volume even exceeds the volume of the reactor, which is only 140 decibels. Representatives of the species are able to hear their brethren at a great distance - up to 1,500 kilometers.
Blue whale communication
The main period of life, blue whales spend alone, traveling through the sea. Sometimes they are combined into small groups of 2-3 individuals. Large flocks, consisting of approximately 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 that a blue whale makes are spread over many kilometers in a deep-sea environment due to their low frequency. Whales can easily communicate with their relatives, located hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from them. For this reason, the seemingly swimming in proud solitude is not really such.
Blue Sea Diet
Whales feed by diving into the sea to a depth of about 100 meters. At one time, the whale's stomach is able to accommodate up to a ton of krill. This way the whale is dipped approximately every 15-20 minutes. During the summer feeding of each individual, up to 4 tons of krill are required daily.
In the animal’s mouth is the famous whalebone, which is a black keratinous plate placed at the top of the sky and hanging down. About 400 of these plates are located on each side. The length of each varies from 50 to 100 centimeters. The "whalebone" is necessary for the animal in the first place as a kind of filter with which the whale filters out water and krill. If it enters the mouth, water exits through the plates, but the whale swallows the remaining food.
Blue Whale Vital Activities and Reproduction
Female cetaceans bring one cub every two to three years. To date, this rate of population increase exceeds mortality due to the ongoing whale hunt.
Newborn whales are the largest cubs on the planet. Only a born kitten has a body length of up to 8 meters and a mass of up to 4 tons. The female carries the baby during the year. Traditionally, only one kitten is born. A person can be very surprised by the growth rate of small whales. Each day, the cub becomes 90 kilograms larger. An adult is 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 the ages of 5 and 10 years.
Blue whales are also famous for their highest growth rate. In just one year, the size of the tissues of this animal becomes several billion times larger.
Blue whales have no teeth, like most cetaceans. For this reason, it is 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 representatives of the species are able to live much longer, up to about 90 years. There is also an absolute record - a whale that has lived 110 years.
Whale destruction process
Before active hunting began on blue whales, the population of these animals significantly exceeded 250 thousand individuals. In the 20th century, active extermination of individuals of this species began, as a result of which the 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.
Especially stands out in the last century, 1931, when there was a real flowering of whaling. In just one season, nearly 30 thousand blue whales were destroyed. 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 extermination of this species, after which hunting for the largest marine inhabitants was prohibited.
Prevalence nowadays
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 can not reliably determine the population size of the species. It is believed that today in the world about 10-25 thousand individuals.
One of the largest populations is a group of whales that lives in the Pacific Ocean, in its northern part, near California. The group has about 2 thousand individuals, and the population of this population is growing very rapidly, giving hope for an increase in the number of cetaceans in general.
Pygmy whales, as well as dwarf whales, are most common 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 the 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 seasons in different hemispheres take place at completely different times, directly opposite to each other, representatives of different populations living on opposite sides of the equator do not communicate with each other.
What is dangerous for whales?
- Filling ocean waters with various chemicals.
- There is a high probability of collision of whales with ships, as well as the danger of entanglement of individuals in fishing gear.
- Violation of the balance of sound in nature, which is dangerous for animals in that they can not find a mate.
- Loss of permanent location and habitat.
A very dangerous moment for whales is climate change. The fact is that a serious increase in temperature can make the water more acidic, as a result of which the abundance of krill, which is the basis of the diet for blue whales, may decrease.
Video: blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
Submit