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Posted on August 20, 2009 by Terry Hunefeld | Posted under Environmental
The Largest Animal That Ever Lived
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There are many myths about these creatures, one is that the heartbeat can be heard for 20 miles which is ridiculous because nobody can even hear a Blue Whale heartbeat from ten feet away. Interestingly, one of the smallest seabirds on earth, Cassins Auklet, and the Blue Whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on earth, both subsist primarily on the same prey: krill. Blue Whales are baleen whales. Instead of teeth, they have a series of flexible plates called baleen that they use to strain up to four tons of these tiny shrimp like crustaceans from the ocean each day. Blue Whales have been known to breed with Fin Whales, the second largest animals on earth. Several hybrid whales have been documented by scientists using DNA analysis. Blue Whales are often found alone or with one other Blue Whale. We do not know for sure how long Blue Whale pairs might stay together because it is so difficult to track them as they cross entire oceans. Blue Whales can rarely be found in groups 45 whales if there is a lot of food (krill) in the area - however this is very rare because they do not usually form large pods like some other species of whales. Blue Whales usually travel at 10 - 12 miles per hour, however, when they are alarmed they are capable to moving faster than 30 miles per hour! Blue Whales populate seas all around the world. The warm waters off California and Mexico are home to one quarter of the worlds entire population during the spring and summer when these areas have a good food supply. Blue Whales are found throughout the world but scientists do not know exactly where they breed or give birth. Feeding has been documented in both tropical and cold 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: Author Terry Hunefeld retired three years ago explore the Pacific Ocean and observe pelagic seabirds and marine mammals. He and his wife Ann own the Inn At Moonlight Beach just up the road from Del Mar and San Diego. For more information visit: Solana Beach B&B or Hotels in Carlsbad. |
Tags: WHALES, BLUE WHALES, SAN DIEGO, SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIA VACATIONS, CALIFORNIA ACCOMMODATIONS, CALIFORNIA TRAVEL, SAN DIEGO TRAVEL, SAN DIEGO
