- The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on the planet. Yes. Larger than the largest dinosaur Argentinosaurus.
- Despite their large size, they eat one of the smallest organisms in the ocean - krill. A single adult blue whale can consume over 4,000 kg of krill a day!
- These large and graceful swimmers can accelerate to more than 20mph (32kph)
- The tongue alone of a blue whale can weigh as much as an elephant.
- They are one of the loudest animals on the planet. Blue whales can hear each other across distances of up to 1,600 km! For comparison, a jet engine registers at 140 decibels while the call of a blue whale can easily reach 188.
- The heart of a blue whale is about the size of an average car.
- Blue whales deliver the largest babies in the world. A blue whale calf can be 25 feet long!
- Blue whale calves are also among the fastest to grow in size. They drink more than 600 liters of milk each day, gaining about 200 pounds or 90 kg every day for its first year.
- They are among animals with the longest lifespans. The average life span of a blue whale is 80 to 90 years.
- It is believed that blue whales feel emotions.
- Humans are probably the most dangerous predator for these gentle beings. We drove their existence to the brink of extinction. It is believed that between 1900 and the mid-1960′s, over 360,000 blue whales were slaughtered, seeking whale oil. The World Conservation Union lists them as Endangered, with around 10,000 to 25,000 remaining.
If we are responsible for the extinction of blue whales, we are responsible for eradicating the largest animal that ever lived on Earth, and one of the most peaceful animals that ever existed.
We should not be this evil.
By the way, Blue Whale challenge is taking the revenge back from humans :P
Hope this post created some more awareness about the mammoth.