Most big whale in the world and an incredibly huge mammal living in the waters of our planet - one can, without a doubt, call the blue whale, which is not at all surprising, because nowadays larger representatives of the marine kingdom simply do not exist. It can truly surprise you with its size and weight. Let's find out how much the largest whale in the world weighs and what its features are.
Blue whale: sizes and features
An adult can grow up to 34 meters in length. The weight of the largest whale can reach more than two hundred tons. But even the internal organs are incredibly impressive of this mammal: the weight of the heart can reach up to 700 kg, the tongue weighs as much as 4000 kg. It is worth noting that the weight of a mammal’s tongue is quite comparable to the weight of an Indian tongue. Despite the word “blue” in the animal’s name, its color is rather gray with a bluish tint. And the animal appears blue when you see it through sea water. Its fins and belly are slightly lighter in color compared to the rest of the surface of the mammal’s body.
The largest whales in the world have a poor sense of smell and vision, which forces them to communicate using sound signals. In order for the sound of a blue whale to be heard by its “relative,” the message must be with a frequency of at least twenty hertz. This allows blue whales to hear each other within 800 km. If the mammal does not produce sound with the required power, it is unlikely to be heard by those to whom the signal is intended. These whales are capable of taking a considerable amount of water into their mouths - all this thanks to the presence of ventral folds.
Another characteristic of the blue whale is that it lives alone. As a rule, these mammals do not like to form herds. However, sometimes they can gather in small groups (2-3 whales). Larger aggregations of this animal are still possible, but only in places where there is a lot of food. But even under such circumstances, blue whales stay somewhat apart from each other.
IN ordinary life blue whale swims in the depths of the sea at a speed of approximately 25 km/h, but if it is necessary to “get away” from danger, then the speed of movement of this mammal can reach up to 50 km/h. But the movements of this type of animal are rather slow and completely clumsy. These mammals are distinguished from other cetaceans by their less maneuverability. Despite the fact that there are many of these animals on our planet, their life has not yet been sufficiently studied. However, scientists are absolutely sure that blue whales are diurnal. They were prompted to this conclusion by the fact that blue whales living off the coast of California do not show any movements at night.
Where live?
You can meet such whales in both cold and warm waters. Based on this factor, mammals are divided into several subspecies - northern, southern and dwarf. The first two species live in cold polar seas, while the dwarf species live in tropical seas. This representative of cetaceans can be found in any ocean in the world. There are even opinions that some individuals prefer to live in the equator region. However, it is almost impossible to actually follow the movements of the largest whale.
Nutrition
The diet of blue whales includes plankton, small fish, crustaceans, namely everything that is available in the place where they live. In a day, it is absolutely easy for a blue whale to swallow at least three tons of food. This mammal has no teeth, but it has a mustache that looks like a brush or a large sieve. With the help of such a device, the whale can filter the water taken into its mouth, retaining food. This huge marine animal is unable to eat a human, so the mammal poses virtually no danger to humans. But this baleen whale is still capable of causing harm to humans - it can overturn a medium-sized ship simply by accidentally hitting it.
Offspring
The female of this mammal reaches sexual maturity by the age of ten. She gives birth once in two years, and she carries the cub for almost 12 months. The hatchling weighs almost three tons and can be up to seven meters in length. A newborn grows very quickly, and, in general, blue whales can live up to a hundred years.
However, not all representatives of this species manage to live to this age - in our time, their population is being destroyed for industrial purposes at an incredibly high rate. But not only man plays big role in the destruction of this species, the mammal becomes a victim of other sea inhabitants. Despite its enormous size, a young whale can be attacked by killer whales, which are capable of tearing the whale apart and eating it. Moreover, killer whales attack in flocks - such a case was recorded, for example, in 1979, when a flock of killer whales added meat from a young representative of the largest mammals to their diet.
The blue or blue whale, also known as the blue whale, is considered the largest living mammal on the planet. Some individuals reach a length of more than 30 meters, although such giants are relatively rare. The average size of a blue whale is about 26 meters in length, and its weight ranges from 100-120 tons.
The blue whale is the largest living animal. This mammal lives in different regions depending on the subspecies. The most numerous subspecies live in cold waters.
Where do whales live? Previously, the habitat of this mammal extended to the entire World Ocean, but due to the development of whaling, the number of these animals has greatly decreased. In some areas they have become very rare. In addition, the largest whale in the world migrates from one region to another in search of food. In summer, these creatures move to cooler areas, and in winter they prefer warmer ones.
The habitat largely depends on the subspecies. The dwarf variety of puke prefers more warm waters Indian Ocean, and larger subspecies settle in the cold waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The largest of the subspecies is considered to be the southern one, living most of the time in subantarctic waters, but occasionally found off the coast of Africa.
Nowadays, puking is rare. The reason for this was whaling, which is now prohibited. Poor ecology also had an impact on the size of the populations of this mammal.
How many of these animals are left? this moment? Several years before the ban on whaling, there were no more than 5,000 blue whales left. At the moment, the population has approximately doubled compared to 1963. The number of giant whales currently living in the World Ocean does not exceed 10,000 individuals, which is less than 10% of the number of individuals before the development of whaling.
Appearance
What were the dimensions of the largest whale officially recorded? At the moment, the largest whale is considered to be a female caught in 1926. The length of this individual was 33.5 meters. The weight of the largest blue whale was not recorded, but according to the estimates of the whalers who caught it, it was at least 200 tons. Information about larger individuals was not documented.
How much does a whale weigh? The weight usually ranges from 100 to 120 tons, but sometimes it can be more. Whales reaching gigantic sizes can weigh 150-200 tons. Such individuals are not uncommon.
What do whales look like? This mammal is second in size only to several prehistoric animals, significantly surpassing all that currently exist. The body size of males is slightly smaller than that of females. The body length of the female vomit is on average about 2 m longer than the male. In addition, the body weight of females is greater.
Since the blue whale is a large animal, its internal organs also reach gigantic sizes. How much does a blue whale's heart weigh? It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. In many ways, the mass of this organ depends on the subspecies. How much does a puking heart weigh? From 500 kg to 1 ton. In one beat, a whale’s heart can pump more than 200 liters of blood.
The tongue of a vomit weighs from 3 to 4 tons. This is the mass of a passenger car. The mass of the lower jaw of this mammal, which has filled its mouth full of krill, is sometimes so great that the animal is not able to close its mouth on its own. In this case, the largest mammal turns over on its back. Under the influence of gravity, the mouth closes on its own.
The size of the fat layer of these giants is also significant. Fat makes up up to 27% of a mammal's body weight. The thickness of the fat layer can reach up to 30 cm.
The lung volume of a blue whale often exceeds 3000 liters. The total blood volume is about 8 tons.
Huge babies
The blue whale is a monogamous animal. Animals form a pair, after which they do not separate under any circumstances.
The frequency of birth of cubs depends on environmental factors, as well as on the number of individuals in a particular area. On average it is about 2 years.
Pregnancy in vomits lasts about 11 months, after which the female gives birth to 1 cub; extremely rarely there can be 2 cubs. In this case, they are born at intervals of several months. Several embryos are formed, but most of them are absorbed in the womb. The weight of a newborn whale is about 2-3 tons, and its length varies from 6 to 8 meters.
The period of breastfeeding is approximately 7 months. During this time, the baby whale grows up to 16 meters in length. The mass of a blue whale at this age reaches 23 tons. A whale is considered an adult from the age of 10-15 years. At this age, individuals become capable of reproduction.
How long do whales live? The lifespan of this mammal is comparable to that of a human. Blyuval can live up to 80 years. The maximum documented lifespan of a blue whale is 110 years, but such figures are rare. Thus, the blue whale is an animal that can be considered a long-liver. Due to whaling, the life expectancy of the vomit was significantly reduced. How many years do these creatures live on average at the moment? The average lifespan of huge mammals is approximately 45 years.
Food vomit
Being the largest animal currently existing, the puking is forced to eat a huge amount of food per day. What does a whale eat? The main diet of this mammal is krill. Krill are the smallest crustaceans, plankton. Fish and larger crustaceans are less commonly eaten. Eating these living creatures is an accident. The giant swallows passing fish along with krill. The speed of movement is about 4-6 km/h.
Due to its size, the blue whale is forced to eat large amounts of food. It eats up to 8 tons of krill per day.
How does a blue whale feed? The animal swims with its mouth open, which catches krill. After this, the mouth closes. The water is expressed using whalebone. The plankton remains in the mouth. When the largest creature in the world has drained all the water, it swallows its prey.
Cubs that feed on mother's milk consume about 90 liters per day. They gain up to 44 kg of weight per day.
The blue whale is considered safe for humans, however, when being close to these animals, you should not forget about safety rules, as they sometimes capsize boats.
Whale songs
The main reason why the blue whale uses sound signals is to communicate with its relatives. The sounds this giant makes belong to the infrasound spectrum. Vomits are able to communicate in this way from distances of up to 33 km.
Another reason why these animals use sound signals is the need to navigate the area. Visibility in water is lower than in air environment, therefore, animals living in the sea, in addition to vision, use other methods of determining their location relative to other objects, in particular echolocation. The sound made by the whale is reflected when it hits an obstacle and comes back. Thus, the vomit determines the distance of obstacles. This is how whales look for krill, their main food.
At the moment, motor boats and other artificial sources of sound underwater cause great harm to giant mammals. They make it difficult to navigate in space. In addition, the largest whale can be injured by the boat. Many of the beached animals were found to have similar injuries, as well as ruptured organs and internal bleeding.
Mysteries of nature
Scientists still have not figured out why marine mammals periodically wash ashore. There are many assumptions regarding this mystery, but none of them can be considered reliable. Among the most popular versions are the theories of echolocation failures, diseases, reactions to pollution environment. Whichever assumption turns out to be correct, it will be difficult to prevent beaching due to the size of the animal. Over the course of a year, several dozen vomits are thrown onto land.
A whale that washes ashore usually dies. The mass of these huge animals is too great for survival on earth. Under the influence of gravity, the giant's body destroys itself.
Another reason for the death of a beached whale may be dehydration. In addition, whales can suffocate if, at high tide, the water cuts off the whale's ability to breathe.
Beaching in cetaceans is often mass character. Several individuals are released at once. It is extremely rare to save beached whales, since this work is very labor-intensive, and sea giants are not able to stay on the surface for a long time.
The largest mammals on Earth are whales. The results of weighing these giant inhabitants of the world's oceans are truly impressive.
It's hard to believe that such massive animals can move through the water as quickly and gracefully as whales can.
Interesting fact: scientists have found that whales descend from ancient land mammals from the order Artiodactyls.
The whale's closest living relative is the hippopotamus and is descended from common ancestor, who lived tens of millions of years ago. Then, 50 million years ago, whales moved to the ocean, and hippos chose to stay closer to land and fresh water.
How much does the largest whale weigh?
The largest human-killed whale of which there is reliable evidence was a female blue whale caught in 1926 near the South Shetland Islands. The weight of the record holder was 176,792 kg; however, some researchers claim that in fact she was never weighed, and her weight was estimated approximately. The length of this individual exceeded 33 meters, which is also a record. 
According to some reports, in 1947, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Georgia, whalers caught a blue whale weighing 190 tons. There is also information about the capture of a whale weighing 181.4 tons.
What is the weight of a blue (blue) whale?
Whales are the largest mammals on the planet, and the largest of all cetaceans is the blue whale, also called the blue whale, or vomit. The dimensions of these giants can reach 33 meters, and their weight can significantly exceed 150 tons. With such an impressive size, the blue whale is a fairly harmless creature: although it is a predator, it feeds exclusively on plankton.
The favorite delicacy of blue whales is krill - small crustaceans whose length does not exceed 6 centimeters. If a whale swallows something larger, it does so by accident, while eating planktonic masses.
Female vomiters are noticeably larger than males: in the Southern Hemisphere average length these animals are 24.5 meters for females and almost 24 meters for males; in the Northern Hemisphere, these sizes are 1 meter less.
There is an opinion that last years whales were greatly reduced as a result of hunting for them - the attention of whalers is primarily attracted by large individuals, so they die more often and leave fewer offspring than their relatives of more modest size. 
Some experts claim that in the past, individuals up to 37 meters in length were often found among blue whales.
The maximum weight of the largest representatives of this species is a rather controversial issue, since not every whale caught can be accurately weighed, and not every weighing result is officially registered, but there is information about whales weighing up to 190 tons.
Not all experts agree with this figure, but they all agree that 150 tons is far from the limit for puking.
How much does a whale's heart weigh?
The heart of a blue whale is the most a big heart worldwide. The weight of an adult heart is 600–700 kilograms, and the normal heart rate for these giant hearts is 5–10 beats per minute. In the tallest whales, the heart can weigh almost a ton. The amount of blood in large specimens exceeds 8 thousand liters.
Not only the blue whale’s heart is gigantic in size, but also its other internal organs. For example, the lung volume of an adult whale is more than 3 thousand liters. 
Thanks to such powerful lungs, these animals are distinguished by extremely loud voices and can exchange sound signals at a distance of up to 33 km.
A whale is a marine animal of the chordate type, class mammals, order Cetacea (lat. Cetacea). Yours modern name, consonant in many languages, whale comes from the Greek word kitoc, literally meaning “sea monster.”
Anatomically, the whale has teeth, but in some species they are in an undeveloped state. In toothless baleen whales, teeth are replaced by bony plates called baleen and adapted for straining food. And only representatives of toothed whales grow identical cone-shaped teeth.
The whale's spine can contain from 41 to 98 vertebrae, and thanks to the spongy structure of the skeleton, elastic intervertebral discs give the animal's body special maneuverability and plasticity.
There is no cervical interception, and the head smoothly merges into the body, which noticeably tapers towards the tail. The whale's pectoral fins are modified and turned into flippers that perform the function of steering, turning and braking. The tail section of the body is flexible and muscular, has a slightly flattened shape and performs the function of a motor. At the end of the tail there are blades that are horizontal. Most species of whales have an unpaired dorsal fin, which acts as a stabilizer when moving through the water column.
The skin of a whale is smooth, hairless, only single hairs and bristles grow on the face of baleen whales, similar to the whiskers of land animals. The color of the whale can be monochromatic, spotted or counter-shaded, when the top of the animal is dark and the bottom is light. In some species, the color of the body changes with age.
Due to the absence of olfactory nerves, whales have almost completely lost their sense of smell. Taste buds are poorly developed, so unlike other mammals, whales only distinguish the salty taste. Whales have poor eyesight, most of these animals are myopic, but they have conjunctival glands that are absent in other animals.
In terms of whale hearing, the complex anatomy of the inner ear allows whales to detect sounds ranging from 150 Hz to the lowest ultrasonic frequencies. And due to the richly innervated skin, all whales have an excellent sense of touch.
Whales communicate with each other. The absence of vocal cords does not prevent whales from speaking and making special sounds using their echolocation apparatus. The concave bones of the skull, together with the fat layer, act as a sound lens and reflector, directing a beam of ultrasonic signals in the desired direction.
Most whales are quite slow, but if necessary, a whale's speed can be 20 - 40 km/h.
The lifespan of small whales is about 30 years, large whales live up to 50 years.
Where do whales live?
Whales live in all oceans. Most whale species are gregarious animals and prefer to live in groups of several tens or even thousands of individuals. Some species are subject to constant seasonal migrations: in winter, whales swim to warm waters where they give birth, and in summer they fatten in temperate and high latitudes.
What does a whale eat?
Most whales eat a certain type of food:
- planktivores eat exclusively plankton;
- teutophagous prefer to eat cephalopods;
- ichthyophages they eat only live fish;
- saprophages (detritivores) consume decomposed organic matter.
And only one animal from the order of cetaceans, the killer whale, feeds not only on fish, but also on pinnipeds (seals, sea lions,) as well as other whales, dolphins and their calves.
Killer whale swims after a penguin
Types of whales with photos and names.
Modern classification divides the order of cetaceans into 2 main suborders:
- toothless or mustachioed whales (lat. Mysticeti);
- toothy whales (lat. Odontoceti), which include dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales and porpoises.
The order of cetaceans forms 38 genera, which unite over 80 known species. Among this variety, several varieties can be distinguished:
- , aka humpback or long-armed minke whale(lat. Megaptera novaeangliae) got its name from the convex fin on its back, reminiscent of a hump. The body length of the whale reaches 14.5 meters, in some specimens it is 18 meters. Average weight humpback whale is 30 tons. The humpback whale differs from other representatives of the minke whale family in its shortened body, variety of colors and several rows of warty, leathery protrusions on the top of its head. Humpback whales live throughout the world's oceans, except the Arctic and Antarctic. Representatives of the North Atlantic population feed exclusively on fish: navaga, pollock, herring, and haddock. The remaining whales eat small crustaceans, various shellfish and small schooling fish.
- Gray whale(California whale) (lat. Eschrichtius robustus, Eschrichtius gibbosus)- the only species of whale that practices eating food from the bottom of the ocean: the animal plows the silt with a special keel-shaped outgrowth located under the lower jaw. The gray whale's diet consists of a variety of bottom-dwelling organisms: annelids, snails, bivalves and other molluscs, crayfish, egg capsules and sea sponges, as well as small fish species. Gray whales in mature age have a body length of up to 12-15 m, the average weight of a whale varies from 15 to 35 tons, with females being larger than males. The body is brown-gray or dark brown, reminiscent of rocky shores in color. This species of whale lives in the Sea of Okhotsk, Chukchi and Bering, and in winter migrates to the Gulf of California and to the southern shores of Japan. Gray whales are record holders among animals for the duration of migrations - the distance covered by animals can reach 12 thousand km.
- bowhead whale (polar whale) (lat. Balaena mysticetus) – long-lived among mammals. Average age The polar whale's lifespan is 40 years, but the known scientifically proven fact of longevity is 211 years. This is a unique species of baleen whale that spends its entire life in the cold waters of the Northern Hemisphere, often making its way like an icebreaker. The whale fountain rises to 6 m in height. The body length of mature females reaches 20-22 meters, males - 18 meters. The weight of a whale is from 75 to 150 tons. The animal's skin color is usually gray or dark blue. The belly and neck are lighter in color. An adult bowhead whale consumes almost 2 tons of various foods every day, consisting of plankton (crustaceans and pteropods).
- Sperm whale (lat. Physeter macrocephalus)- the largest representative of toothed whales, and females are much smaller than males and have a body length of no more than 15 meters. The male whale grows up to 20 meters in length. The maximum weight of females reaches 20 tons, males - 50 tons. Sperm whales have such a characteristic appearance that they cannot be confused with other cetaceans. The giant head makes up over 35% of the length of the body, and, when viewed from the side, the sperm whale's muzzle looks like a slightly beveled rectangle. In the recess at the bottom of the head there is a mouth lined with 20-26 pairs of cone-shaped teeth. The weight of 1 whale tooth reaches 1 kilogram. The wrinkled skin of the sperm whale often has a dark gray color with blue tint, although dark brown and even black individuals are found. Being a predator, the sperm whale hunts squid, cuttlefish, large fish (including some species), and also swallows all sorts of objects found in the ocean: empty bottles, rubber boots, toys, coils of wire. Sperm whales live throughout the world's oceans, but are more common in tropical waters than in cool ones. Most of the population is distributed off the coast of the Black Continent and the eastern coast of Asia.
- (lat. Balaenoptera physalus)- the second largest animal on the planet. The length of an adult whale is 24-27 m, but thanks to its slender physique, the whale weighs only 40-70 tons. Distinctive feature Fin whales are characterized by the asymmetrical coloration of their muzzle: the right part of the lower jaw is white, and the left part is dark. The whale's diet consists of small crustaceans. Fin whales live in all oceans: in winter they inhabit the waters of moderately warm zones, and in the warm season they swim to the waters of the Arctic and Antarctic.
- Blue whale (blue whale, vomited)(lat. Balaenoptera musculus)- not only the largest whale in the world, but also the largest animal on our planet. The length of a blue whale can reach 33 meters, and the weight of a blue whale reaches 150 tons. This animal has a relatively slender build and a narrow muzzle. The body color within the species is uniform: most individuals are gray with a blue tint and gray spots scattered throughout the body, making the animal’s skin appear marbled. Blue whale feeding in to a greater extent plankton and inhabits the entire oceans.
- Dwarf right whale (dwarf right whale, short-headed right whale)(lat. Caperea marginata)- the smallest species of the suborder of baleen whales. The body of an adult does not exceed 4-6 m in length, and the whale’s body weight barely reaches 3-3.5 tons. Skin color is gray with dark spots, sometimes black. It is distinguished by a wave-like mode of movement, unusual for whales, and feeds on plankton. The pygmy whale is one of the rarest and smallest species of whales, living mainly in the waters of southern Australia and New Zealand.
