Photo: DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) (CC BY 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Encyclopaedia
What is a blue whale?
At a glance2
Fun facts7 facts
- 1
Scientists can estimate a blue whale's age by counting light and dark layers of earwax, and the oldest one measured this way was 110 years old.[1]
- 2
A blue whale's heart rate can slow to just 2 beats per minute on deep dives, then speed up to about 37 when it surfaces.[1]
- 3
Blue whale songs differ between populations, and the calls of Eastern North Pacific blue whales have dropped in pitch by 31% since the 1960s.[1]
- 4
One blue whale's heart was measured at about 180 kg, the biggest heart known in any animal.[1]
- 5
Blue whales make some of the loudest and deepest sounds in the animal world, reaching up to 188 dB.[1]
Sources2
Blue whale guides
Protecting and staying safe around a blue whale
Not veterinary advice. General information about this animal. If you find one injured or in trouble, contact a wildlife rescue or the RSPCA rather than handling it yourself.
