Blue Whales are magnificent creatures and one of the best places to see them is from Southern California. Whale watching trips go out regularly from San Diego, Los Angeles, Oxnard, Ventura and Santa Barbara.
The Blue Whale is the largest animal to ever live on earth " far larger than the largest dinosaurs, and weighing up to 190 tons, heavier than a DC-10 airliner. For sake of comparison, the largest elephants barely reach 6 tons. Blue Whales have been measured scientifically at 98 feet, and thought to reach more than 110 feet, while the longest dinosaur skeleton measures under 90 feet from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail.
The Guinness book of world records claims that the heartbeat of a Blue Whale can be heard for 19 miles " thats totally untrue; nobody can hear the heartbeat of a Blue Whale from 10 feet, let alone 19 miles.
Surprisingly, one of the tiniest seabirds in the world, the Cassins Auklet, and the Blue Whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on the face of the earth, both eat the same diet, a tiny shrimp-like animal named krill. Blue Whales don't have teeth, instead they have a series of rods and plates (baleen) that they use to strain their food. They can consume four tons of krill each day.
Blue Whales have been known to interbreed occasionally with the second largest animal on earth, the Fin Whale. Four of these hybrids have been scientifically documented by DNA analysis.
Blue Whales are thought to be solitary or perhaps associate with one other individual. It is not known whether Blue Whale pairs stay together over long periods of time. Where there are high concentrations of food as many as 50 Blue Whales have seen in one area, although this is exceptional because they do not normally form the large close-knit groups seen in other baleen whale species.
Blue Whales are very strong swimmers and usually travel at 12 miles per hour. When they are excited they have been clocked at 30 miles per hour!
Blue Whales are known to inhabit oceans all over the world. They are especially attracted to Pacific Ocean waters off California and Mexico which can host up to 30% of the worlds entire population during the warmer spring and summer months due to the excellent supply of food.
Blue Whales are found all over the world in both cold and warm waters. Its not known for certain where they breed and give birth, but is suspected to be in warmer waters. Feeding has been documented in temperate, tropical and polar waters.
In the 1800's there were hundreds of thousands of Blue Whales all over the world. Then man developed weapons such as guns and exploding harpoons an proceeded to nearly eliminate these wonderful animals in the early twentieth century. Blue Whales were hunted mercilessly for 40 years until they were nearly extinct. Protection began in 1966 and their population is slowly recovering with perhaps 6,000 to 8,000 Blue Whales left worldwide today.
The Blue Whale is the largest animal to ever live on earth " far larger than the largest dinosaurs, and weighing up to 190 tons, heavier than a DC-10 airliner. For sake of comparison, the largest elephants barely reach 6 tons. Blue Whales have been measured scientifically at 98 feet, and thought to reach more than 110 feet, while the longest dinosaur skeleton measures under 90 feet from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail.
The Guinness book of world records claims that the heartbeat of a Blue Whale can be heard for 19 miles " thats totally untrue; nobody can hear the heartbeat of a Blue Whale from 10 feet, let alone 19 miles.
Surprisingly, one of the tiniest seabirds in the world, the Cassins Auklet, and the Blue Whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on the face of the earth, both eat the same diet, a tiny shrimp-like animal named krill. Blue Whales don't have teeth, instead they have a series of rods and plates (baleen) that they use to strain their food. They can consume four tons of krill each day.
Blue Whales have been known to interbreed occasionally with the second largest animal on earth, the Fin Whale. Four of these hybrids have been scientifically documented by DNA analysis.
Blue Whales are thought to be solitary or perhaps associate with one other individual. It is not known whether Blue Whale pairs stay together over long periods of time. Where there are high concentrations of food as many as 50 Blue Whales have seen in one area, although this is exceptional because they do not normally form the large close-knit groups seen in other baleen whale species.
Blue Whales are very strong swimmers and usually travel at 12 miles per hour. When they are excited they have been clocked at 30 miles per hour!
Blue Whales are known to inhabit oceans all over the world. They are especially attracted to Pacific Ocean waters off California and Mexico which can host up to 30% of the worlds entire population during the warmer spring and summer months due to the excellent supply of food.
Blue Whales are found all over the world in both cold and warm waters. Its not known for certain where they breed and give birth, but is suspected to be in warmer waters. Feeding has been documented in temperate, tropical and polar waters.
In the 1800's there were hundreds of thousands of Blue Whales all over the world. Then man developed weapons such as guns and exploding harpoons an proceeded to nearly eliminate these wonderful animals in the early twentieth century. Blue Whales were hunted mercilessly for 40 years until they were nearly extinct. Protection began in 1966 and their population is slowly recovering with perhaps 6,000 to 8,000 Blue Whales left worldwide today.
About the Author:
Terry Hunefeld retired from a CEO career in 2007 to follow his bliss of going to sea to observe seabirds and mammals. He and his wife Ann own the lovely Inn at Moonlight Beach on the Pacific Coast of San Diego. If you would like to stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Del Mar or a Bed and Breakfast in Carlsbad, be sure to check out Inn at Moonlight Beach.
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