5/7/2023 0 Comments Blue whale weight![]() ![]() Whales generally stay within a single hemisphere, migrating either toward the north or the southern poles. The pelagic blue whale feeds on krill along the edges of the ice pack in summer and migrates to warmer waters for breeding in winter. The life span of the blue whale is only about 20 years. One offspring is produced in a two-year period. The calf weighs as much as 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) at birth and grows at a rate of 200 lbs (90.7 kg) per day. The gestation period is 11 months, after which a single calf is born. Most blue whales migrate to the krill-rich waters of the polar oceans in summer and return to the middle southern latitudes for breeding in winter. The blue whale is a powerful swimmer and feeds mainly on schools of krill, a small shrimplike invertebrate, which it scoops up in large quantities - as much as 2 tons (1.8 metric tons) at one feeding. Coloring is slate-blue above and yellowish or whitish below. Its throat is only a few inches in diameter, so that it can ingest nothing larger than small fish. Like other baleen whales, it has no teeth and strains its food through a series of plates set within the palate, called the baleen. The dorsal fin is small and set far back on its streamlined body. It has a U-shaped snout and 80-100 throat furrows. The weight can range from 90-150 tons (81-136 metric tons). It attains a mature length of 70-85 ft (21-26 m) and has been recorded as long as 106 ft (32 m). The blue whale is the largest mammal that has ever inhabited the earth. ![]()
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