Blue Whale, Largest Whale in the World

Blue whales are marine mammals that enter into sub-orders of baleen whales. Its length reaches more than 33 meters and has a mass of 181 metric tons or more. The blue whale is the largest whale compared with other types of whales.

Blue Whale

Long and slender, the Blue Whale’s body has a blue color that is different. There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus north Atlantic and north Pacific, B. m. intermedia, the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as Little Blue Whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica was found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet contains a staple of small crustaceans known as krill, which as well as small fish and squid.

Blue Whales are very abundant in nearly all oceans until well into the 20th century. For over 40 years of whales were hunted almost to extinction by whaling until protected by the international community in 1966. A 2002 report estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 Blue Whales worldwide located in at least five groups.

Largest Mammals

Most of the current research draws attention to the subspecies of Little Blue Whales is possible under estimate. Before whaling, the largest population of blue whales is in the Antarctic, numbering approximately 239,000 (202,000 to 311,000). The rest is only a small portion (approximately 2,000) to concentrate on each the northeastern Pacific, Antarctic, and Indian Ocean. There are more than two groups in the North Atlantic Ocean and at least two in the Southern Hemisphere. Blue Whale is the largest whale in the world.