Endangered animal- Blue whale

did you know a bule whales life span is 80 years??

the blue whale.

The blue whale or else known by its scientific name Balaenoptera musculus is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whale suborder Mysticeti. It should be noted that animals classed as Mysticeti tend to be large and that stays true for the blue whale known to be the largest animal to have ever existed reaching a maximum confirmed length of 98ft and weighing up to 199 tonnes (196 long tons; 219 short tons).

The diet of a blue whale almost exclusively consists of euphausiids otherwise known as krill. Blue whales capture krill through lung feeding, a bulk filter-feeding strategy that involves accelerating towards a prey patch at high speeds, opening the mouth at 80-90 degree angle, and inverting the tongue, creating a large sac. This allows them to engulf a large volume of krill-laden water, up to 220 tonnes of water at one time. They squeeze the water out through their baleen plates with pressure from the ventral pouch and tongue, and they swallow the remaining krill.

Diet.

Data collected from satellites suggest that the leisurely speed of a blue whale is 4.6mph while its minimum average speed is 1.68mph and can reach a maximum speed of 12-30mph when being hunted or chased.

Swim speed.

Out of the many species of baleen whales, blue whales have less specific movement patterns when migrating, and with substantial evidence of alternative strategies, such as year-round residency, partial or differential migration, and anomalous habits such as feeding on breeding grounds. The mechanism behind modern whale migration is often debated.

MIgration.

Behavior.

Behavior.

Through the use of earwax lamina deposited in the earplug and the development of sexual organs from dead whales, It’s been determined that blue whales reach sexual maturity at the age of 10 and an average length of 77ft. It should also be known that blue whales exhibit no well-defined social structure other than mother-calf bonds from birth until weaning; they are generally solitary or found in small groups. Little is known about their mating behavior or breeding and birthing areas, but mating is thought to occur in the fall and throughout winter. Female blue whales are capable of birthing one calf and give birth every 2-3years depending on their body temperature and lactation period. Their gestation period lasts 10-11months.

Reproduction and birth.

The Blue whales’ natural habitat is the ocean; its specific habitat type is Marine Oceanic and Marine Neritic; blue whales preferably live in the deep ocean and are located in both the southern and northern hemispheres.

Natural Habitat.

With the blue whale considered to be the top of the food chain, it wouldn’t be illogical to think that it has no predator, but it seems a specific type of animal has discovered its flaw and that animal is the orca. The only predator of the blue whale, it manages to take on such a considerable task by hunting in packs which if we’re accounting for its size makes sense.

Predator.

Did you know whales are diurnal animals???

Did you know the livable water temperature for blue whales is 10-25 degrees celsius???

The blue whale doesn’t have a specific climate requirement being a migratory animal but has a preferred temperature for breeding and feeding. During the summer blue whales migrate to the arctic for feeding and during the winter migrate to non-polar regions like subtropical areas for breeding.

Climate requirements.

The blue whales’ original and present-day range covers both the northern and southern hemispheres.

Geographic range.

Did you know blue whales were listed as endangered as of 2018 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature???

Blue whales are endangered for many reasons, most reasons being man-made threats such as climate change which affects their way of life and diet, plastics and microplastics which threatens the population viability, ocean noises which causes mild to severe behavioral responses, entanglement which reduces reproductive success and life span, pollutants, hunting, and ship strikes. Overall these reasons have led to an estimated population size of 10,000 blue whales; it should be known that blue whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, meaning conservation efforts have already been enacted, but since their population size is truly an estimate the argument that conservation efforts are failing can’t be made. To support the preservation of blue whales organizations like Noaa fisheries provide information about this particular species and what you can do to help.

Why the blue whale is endangered.

For Bibliography email tkornfeld@hbgsd.k12.pa.us