What is a blue whale?
The Balaenoptera musculus is more commonly known as the blue whale and is the largest animal in the world. It is also long-lived, being able to live to around 90 years of age in the wild.
While they look blue underwater (and that's how they got their name), blue whales are actually blue-grey in color.
How big are blue whales?
They can weigh up to around 200 tons, with a heart said to be as big as a car and a tongue that weighs the same as an elephant!
They can usually grow up to 100 feet long, although some have been recorded as 110 feet. Females tend to grow larger than their male counterparts, with the largest blue whales living in the Antarctic region.
Blue Whale Conservation Status
These amazing mammals are endangered species thanks to humans heavily hunting them, pollution, climate change, ocean noise, and overfishing. Despite a global hunting ban issued in 1966, the blue whale species has declined by a shocking 70 to 90% in the past 150 years.