The tongue of a blue whale weighs as much as an elephant. Their hearts, meanwhile, weigh almost a ton and need to beat just once every ten seconds. The blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever lived, far bigger than any of the dinosaurs. An adult blue whale can grow to about 30 metres long and weigh more than 180,000 kg, equivalent to around 40 elephants, 30 Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaurs, or about 2,670 average-sized men!
Blue whales look true blue underwater, but on the surface their coloring is more a mottled blue-gray. Their underbellies take on a yellowish hue from the millions of microorganisms that take up residence in their skin. The blue whale has a broad, flat head and a long, tapered body that ends in wide, triangular flukes.
Blue whales live in all the world’s oceans occasionally swimming in small groups but usually alone or in pairs. They often spend summers feeding in polar waters and undertake lengthy migrations towards the Equator as winter arrives.
These graceful swimmers cruise the ocean at more than five miles an hour, but accelerate to more than 20 miles an hour when they are agitated. Blue whales are among the loudest animals on the planet. They emit a series of pulses, groans, and moans, and it’s thought that, in good conditions, blue whales can hear each other up to 1,000 miles away. Scientists think they use these vocalizations not only to communicate, but, along with their excellent hearing, to sonar-navigate the lightless ocean depths.
Picture Credit : Google