the blue whale it is a mammal belonging to the order Cetacea of scientific name Balaenoptera musculus. It's the biggest animal on the planet, reaches about 30 meters in length and has about 120 tons of mass. Females are larger than males and can weigh up to 130 tons.
This incredible mammal is found in every ocean in the world (cosmopolitan distribution), with the exception of the Arctic. These whales migrate through the oceans during the year, being found in regions close to the poles in search of food and in tropical and temperate areas during the reproductive period.
Despite its large size, this animal is not an agile predator nor does it feed on large animals. The main organisms present in the food of these huge mammals are small crustaceans known as krill, which are similar to small shrimp. An adult blue whale eats an average of two tons of krill daily.
The blue whale can reach up to 30 meters in length
Blue whales do not have large teeth and, in the location of these structures, it is possible to observe a kind of beard. Therefore, to feed, the whale puts a large amount of water and crustaceans in the mouth and, later, eliminates excess water. Thanks to the presence of this beard, the crustaceans are filtered out.
Blue whales acquire sexual maturity at around 10 years of age, and gestation lasts an average of one year. After birth, young whales are fed for an average of eight months. Usually a female waits 2-3 years during one gestation and another.
Currently, the IUCN Red List considers the blue whale as threatened with extinction. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this animal was heavily hunted by man. Unfortunately, more and more, we see beautiful species disappearing from the planet due to the attitudes of men, who do not know or ignore the definition of sustainable exploitation. In addition to hunting, blue whales suffer from problems such as collisions with ships and accidental captures in fishing nets.
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
