Blue Whale - the largest creature on Earth (12 photos)

The blue whale is the largest creature on earth. Its weight, in rare cases, up to 200 tons and a length of 33 meters. The average length of 23-29 meters. This is truly a huge animal, a giant. Previously, it was from the area of ​​the Antarctic to the Arctic. Whaling nearly wiped out the blue whale. To date listed in the International Red Book and the Red Book of Russia.




In blue whale elongated, slender blue-gray, flat side body with gray patches of different sizes and shapes. The back and sides are lighter in color, lighter overall tone. A head and jaw darker. The head has the shape of an angle of 45 °, the top wide. The pectoral fins are narrow, pointed and long form. Caudal fin wide, with sharp edges. In the blue whale is about 60 submandibular neck folds.



Blue whales swim by 2 or 3 individuals, and sometimes alone. By the shores of trying not to swim. Several groups may meet in places where plankton. Speed ​​blue whale 9-13 km / h. If the whale scared or run away, it has a top speed of 25 km / h, and produces small fountains every 30 seconds.



Blue whale dives for 10-12 minutes, if the state of calm. After a long and deep dive is shown first on the surface of the blowhole on top of the head. Small dorsal fin is visible when the front of the whale already under water. After the fountain whale arches his back. Blue whale tail fin usually does not show a strong exposes the caudal peduncle semicircle



After the destruction, the whale can be seen already in the smaller area. So the blue whale habitat now is, Bering and Chukchi Seas, the Commander district, the Aleutian Islands, and the Kurils. And swims in the north-western part of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Anadyr.



Whales are extremely hardy. It may be in motion for many days without a single stop. But despite the power they need constant human intervention to survive.



One day the blue whale eats about 1 ton of krill (about 1 million calories) which are the main feed. Keith swallowed krill, along with thousands of liters of water, floating through his flock, and then filters it pushing this whole mass of the language through the baleen. Incidentally tongue of a blue whale weighs more than an elephant, and a thickness greater than 3 meters.