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Blue whale size3/1/2023 ![]() ![]() The mortality rate of such attacks is unknown. Studies report that as many as 25% of mature blue whales have scars resulting from orca attacks. Despite their gigantic size, they have a natural predatorĪnd it’s the orca (the killer whale). The daily energy requirement of an adult blue whale is about a whopping 1.5 million kilocalories (6.3 GJ). ![]() An adult blue whale can eat up to 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb) of krill in a single day. Feedingīlue whales feed almost exclusively on krill, though they also take small numbers of planktonic copepods (a group of small crustaceans). The smallest baleen whale is the Pygmy Right Whaleīaleen whales range in size from the 20 ft (6 m) and 6,600 lb (3,000 kg) pygmy right whale to the blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. The hippopotamus is more closely related to whales than any other land animal. DNA data show that whales are closely related to hipposĪccording to Jessica Theodor, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary, and her colleague Jonathan Geisler, associate professor at Georgia Southern University, DNA information shows a strong relationship between whales and hippos. Blue whales are typically known to nurse their calves deep under the water – so the sight captured in Sri Lanka was an extremely special one. The incredibly rare footage taken by wildlife film-maker Patrick Dykstra shows an approximately 80-foot (24-meter) blue whale mother feeding her calf. This footage shows a baby blue whale nursing captured off the South Coast of Sri Lanka. In about just 7-9 months, the calf reaches a length of 15 meters (50 feet) and a weight of between 20-25 metric tons making it already larger than any other animal that isn’t a whale. Second, it provides the necessary nutrients and energy the calf needs to quickly grow large enough to survive the challenging migrations. This has two benefits: first, it makes nursing underwater easier as the milk doesn’t easily dissolve in the water. This high-fat concentration gives the blue whale’s milk an almost toothpaste-like consistency. The milk they drink has a very high-fat concentration of about 30%-50%, which is at least 10 times higher than that of human or cow milk. Even at birth, they weigh up to 2,700 kilograms (5,950 lb) – the same as a fully grown hippopotamus. Blue whale calves gain weight quickly, as much as 90 kilograms (200 lb) every 24 hours. During the first seven months of its life, they drink approximately 380 liters (100 US gal) of milk every day. Related: Amazing Blue Whale Drone Footage Blue whale calvesĮven at birth, a blue whale calf weighs about 2.5 tonnes (2.8 short tons) and is around 7 meters (23 feet) in length – already larger even the largest great white shark. But there is a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest that the largest specimens can grow up to 31 meters (102 feet) in length. It was a pregnant female caught in the Antarctic in the 1937-38 season. The longest blue whale measured by scientists was 29.9 meters (98 feet) long. This title goes to Patagotitan mayorum, the largest dinosaur ever lived, which averaged 122 feet (37 meters) long and was nearly 20 feet (6 meters) high at the shoulder. It is not the longest animal of all time, though. That includes dinosaurs and other ocean giants including megalodon and Mosasaur. The blue whale is the largest animal of our time and also the largest animal ever lived. Some key points from the animation: The blue whale is the largest animal ever lived But how large are they exactly? This animation will show you. Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: How Large Are Blue Whales Really? Size Comparison () Blue whales are way bigger than you think: the Blue Whale is the largest animal of our time and the largest animal that ever lived.
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