Blue Whales: The Largest Animal to Live on Earth
By: Kyla Miller
Balaenoptera musculus
Photo found from: "Blue Whale." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web.
All About the Blue Whale
The
Balaenopetra Musculus, commonly known as the Blue whale, is considered to be
the largest and heaviest animal to ever live on earth! A baby whale when born
is born somewhere around 23 feet weighing between 5 and 6 thousand pounds. A full-grown
whale eventually averages somewhere between 70 and 90 feet and weighing between
100 and 150 tons!
Photo found from: Alearned
-Learn Somthing New Daily.
N.p., 31 Oct. 2013. Web.
Typically blue whales appear a very clear blue under the water, hence the name, but are actually a bluish grey color with a yellowish belly. Notice the difference in coloring when submerged in water and when the true color is exposed out of water.
Notice the difference in colors!
Photos from: Aerial
Image of a Giant Blue Whale.
N.d. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, n.p.
Diet and Living Space
Blue whales are Baleen whales
meaning that they have large plate like hairs attached to their jaw that allow
them to suck in large amounts of water while filtering out food and then
pushing the water back out with their massive tongues. This method allows them
to eat almost 2-4 tons of krill and plankton during feeding season, which is
almost all blue whales eat.
Photo from: "Natural Wonders of Krill for Pets." All Natural Pet Care Blog RSS. N.p., 30 Sept. 2011. Web.
Blue whales concentrate on feeding in the polar
summers in areas such as the Monterey Bay, Channel Islands and other places
along the coast but also migrate to warmer areas such as Mexico during the
colder months in California. Blue whales were once spotted in all of the oceans
across the world but now it is much more uncommon for them to be spotted.
Photo from: http://6storiesfromthe7continents.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-blue-recovery.html
Blue Whales don’t reach
sexual maturity until the age of 10 years old and even then, female whales only
give birth every 2 to 3 years, with a 10-12 Gestation period. If a threat is
posed on low reproductive species such as, because they are not rapid producers,
they can almost immediately become endangered.
Beginning of Endangerment
Blue whales were fairly good
at escaping endangerment up until the 1900s. In the early 1900s a tool called
the harpoon cannon was created to catch whales. The invention of this tool
sparked the beginning of Blue Whales continuous endangerment. By 1931, 29,649 whales were taken (marine mammal
center) and killed. Blue whales were found in oceans all over the world at one point and are now only known to mostly occur in a few states. By the late 1960’s it was illegal to commercially hunt Blue
Whales. In 1970, Blue Whales were officially listed by the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as an endangered species.
Photo from: "Photos: Rare First-Generation Swivel Whaling Harpoon Gun - The Firearm Blog." The Firearm Blog. N.p., 30 July 2014. Web.
“The
long-term goal of this Plan is to promote the recovery of blue whale
populations so that it becomes appropriate to remove them from the list of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act.”
Road to Recovery
Humans tend to be one of the biggest reasons why Blue Whales have become listed as endangered. Therefore a huge part of the recovery plan was to stop humans from interacting with Blue Whales habitat in a way that was negatively affecting them. Although in the early 1900's Blue Whales started showing signs of endangerment, it wasn't until June 2nd 1970 when Blue Whales were officially listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act in the entire world, protecting them from being commercially hunted.
The current recovery plan for Blue Whales was documented July 28th 1998, yet Blue Whales continue to be one of the many endangered species listed.The first step of the recovery plan, like most recovery plans, was to understand the Blue Whale’s habitat, diet, population size, and all factors related to their ecosystem. According to research conducted in the late 1900s, approximately 11,000 Blue Whales were hunted and killed, causing the Blue Whale population to eventually drop to the low hundreds. Once this is done the next step is to protect the whales habitat and make sure it is not being further harmed. Once a good understanding of the Blue Whale’s surrounding environment was obtained, the next step in the recovery plan was to promote protection and avoid all human caused fatalities of Blue Whales. This involved outlining areas where there is possible fatal ship and vessel collisions with the whales. Once the plan is implemented, the next steps are to ensure a world wide effort to raise Blue Whale population size to the point that the criteria for being delisted has been met they can be delisted from endangerment.
Breakdown of plan:
- Learn about the Blue Whales body, habitat, what they eat, where they migrate, and any other factors needed to become an expert on the subject.
- Research what the population size once was and what it is now
- Promote awareness and protect the habitats imperative for the plans success
- Minimize all injury and mortality due to human caused actions
- Get the whole world on board with the protection Plan
- Have criteria mapped out that would allow for the Blue Whale to come off the Endangered Species list
To Learn more about Blue Whales watch this video!
Feeling like you want to help? Donate here! To Help Save whales!
Work Cited for Text
"Blue Whale." The Marine Mammal Center. © 2015 The Marine Mammal Center, n.d. Web.
Reeves, Randall R., Phillip J. Clapham, Robert L. Brownell, Jr., and Gregory K. Silber. "RECOVERY PLAN FOR THE BLUE WHALE." RECOVERY PLAN FOR THE BLUE WHALE (n.d.): n. pag. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Endangered Species. Web.
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