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Our Oceans once churned with giants diving deep in the liquid space. Blue Whales are the Largest Creature to Ever Breathe on Planet Earth. In fact, they are so enormous that an adult mother Blue Whale can reach up to 200 tons. That is the weight of 25 fully grown Elephants, or in length, 2 city buses parked end-to-end, 112 adult male giraffes, or an 8- to 10-story building swimming under the Sea.
Since 1966 there has been a Worldwide Illegal ban against hunting Blue Whales, and they are endangered with approximately 2,000 left on Earth. It has been estimated that only a couple hundred years ago there were upwards of 200,000 Blue Whales near Antarctica. But today, only 2,000 remain on all of Earth.
The best way to protect them is to discover where they go. There are currently 7 species of cetaceans in U.S. waters that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They are the blue whale, the bowhead whale, the fin whale, the Humpback whale, the Northern Right Whale, the sei whale and the sperm whale. All 7 species are listed as endangered.
Most of the time Blues only briefly surface and spend over 90% of their lives under water. Scientists hope to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the Sea, where Blue Whales are born…and the Video below shares the National Geographic journey.
We need to find out where they go to breed and calf. Blue Whales are often seen in pairs…and researchers Tag the Blue Whales in California with satellite tags to discover places where the Blues will potentially give birth. For years it has been expected that a second important feeding location for the Blues is off of Costa Rica in a place in the ocean called “The Dome.”
As the largest animal on the planet eats one of the oceans smallest creatures, Krill; it takes about 2,000 pounds of Krill to fill a Blue Whales’ stomach. A Blue Whale will devour 7,000 pounds of Krill PEr DAY. These scientists follow the whales during their Winter migration to the Costa Rica Dome. The Costa Rica Dome essentially acts as a warm-water crib in the upper ocean for babies to grow up near the surface. They don’t need to work as hard to stay warm. A true Blue Whale nursery.
Mating and calving requires a lot of energy and a productive place like “The Dome” provides the fuel. A Blue Whale that’s 9 months along carries an 18 foot fetus…of the 1 full year until pregnancy…the baby Blue grows inside the womb about 1 inch per day.
Most strikingly for me, was to learn their calls are so low frequency that they may be able to hear one another from 1,000 miles away. please enjoy the video…
Related articles by Zemanta
- Whale watching: 10 of the best (telegraph.co.uk)
- Our long, troubled relationship with whales – the largest, oldest, most mysterious creatures on the planet. (slate.com)
- The mystery of the 100-tonne whale (guardian.co.uk)
- Blue whales are singing in a lower key (adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com)
- Blue Whale Song Mystery Baffles Scientists (wired.com)
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