blue whales
Largest living animals
Blue whales are the largest animals known to have existed, reaching over 100 feet long and 200 tons.
These marine mammals feed almost exclusively on krill, consuming several tons daily.
Despite their size, they were hunted nearly to extinction before international protections began in the 1960s.
We spotted a blue whale off the coast of California.
- cetaceanAquatic mammal order
- baleenWhale's filtering bristles
- filter feedersOrganisms sieving food from water
- blowholeWhale's breathing aperture
- marine mammalsWarm-blooded ocean animals
oceanic · open ocean · breaching · endangered · deep diving · fluke · humpback whales · Southern Ocean · whales · migratory · deep · spout · majestic · marine research · fin whales · giants · gentle giants · barnacles
- open oceanopen ocean, twilight zone, midnight zone, surface water, water column
- whale conservationwhaling ban, moratorium, marine sanctuaries, protected species, rehabilitation centers
- ocean lifeocean, sea, sea creatures, shark, sea life
- large herbivoreselephants, African elephants, Asian elephants, rhinos, black rhinos
- marine mammalsdolphin, whales, dolphins, porpoise, seals
- nektondolphins, whales, sharks, sea turtles, swordfish
blue whalestardigrades
Microscopic invertebrates, extremely resilient
bacteria · krill · plankton · hummingbirds · ants
blue whalessperm whales
Largest toothed cetaceans
orcas · killer whales · dolphins · porpoises · narwhals
blue whalesgreat white sharks
Large predatory ocean fish
killer whales · orcas · saltwater crocodiles · box jellyfish · tiger sharks