Blue Whale

A rorqual that reaches about 30 metres and well over 100 tonnes in the largest Antarctic females. It feeds by lunging open-mouthed into a swarm, the pleated throat ballooning to take in a volume of water that can outweigh the whale itself before the tongue forces it out again.

• Blue Whales are the largest animals known to have lived.
• Their food is mostly tiny krill, and an adult is reported to eat several tonnes in a single day of feeding.
• Their calls are among the lowest and loudest animal sounds.
• A newborn Blue Whale calf is roughly seven metres long and gains weight rapidly on its mother's milk.

Rests in short bouts while surfacing to breathe, because even the largest body lives by rhythm and return to air.

Habitat: open ocean, productive feeding water, and migratory marine routes

Native range: oceans worldwide

Blue Whale feeds on mostly krill filtered through baleen in huge mouthfuls.

Rests in short bouts while surfacing to breathe, because even the largest body lives by rhythm and return to air.

Usually estimated at 80 to 90 years, from growth layers counted in the waxy ear plug. At least one whale has been aged at about 110.

Females give birth to a single calf after a long pregnancy and nurse it on rich milk, turning huge growth into intimate care.

Females are generally larger, carrying the magnitude of calf growth and nursing, while both sexes share the vast filter-feeding body.

Rarity: Uncommon · 68/100. Blue Whale is never easy to find and becomes less secure when open ocean, productive feeding water, and migratory marine routes is reduced or fragmented.

• Keep distance and let the animal choose the space.
• Avoid blocking movement routes, nesting areas, or feeding behavior.
• Use optics, patience, and quiet observation instead of crowding for a closer view.