Where do Blue Whales Live

Blue whales, one of the most endangered species of the ocean life, now dwell in very limited areas of the ocean. Before we start off with answering the question 'where do blue whales live'; let us try to understand some basic blue whale facts.

Taxonomy of the Blue Whale

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Genus	Balaenoptera
Kingdom	Balaenopteridae

Features of the Blue Whale

Blue whales are not only the largest whales, but also the largest living beings on this planet. The length of its head is about one quarter of its body length. Although the name blue whale often causes most of us to believe that these whales are blue in color, the truth is not so. The blue whales are gray in color. They have pleats on the skin of their neck, which allows them to consume heavy volumes of water.

Eating Habits of the Blue Whale

Blue whales mainly feed on the tiny shrimps, called krills. These are the most abundant sea organisms, that move about in large schools and hence the blue whales do not face any food insufficiency. The blue whale has a distinctive way of eating. It consumes the krills along with a large amount of water. The water is then filtered out from its mouth by the baleen (huge comb like structure) present in the throat of the whale, leaving the food behind.

Interesting Facts about the Blue Whale

• It is well known that the blue whale is the largest animal to dwell on the earth, after the dinosaurs.
• The blue whales, the largest mammals on Earth, have been reported to have a maximum life span of 110 years. Although the average life span of the blue whales is 60 to 70 years.
• Blue whales can even reach to a length of 100 feet.
• It is amazing to know how whales communicate with each other. They are the loudest living species on the earth and their sound can reach up to 188 decibels. They use these low frequency sound waves to communicate to each other.
• They are very fast swimmers and can swim at the rate of 30 miles per hour.

Now, since we have dealt with all the facts, let us come back to the question; 'Where do blue whales live?'.

Blue Whale Habitat

Blue whales are present in almost all the oceans. However, they are mainly spotted in the southern hemisphere. They prefer to stay in the deep waters and sometimes in the coastal waters. Warm water is not something that the blue whales prefers to stay in. Cold and temperate waters serve as an ideal habitat for these large sea mammals. The blue whales spotted in the seas of Canada, are those that dwell in the northern hemisphere. The Gulf of California and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada are among the other blue whale habitats. Maximum number of blue whales are spotted in the North Atlantic Ocean, while some are also spotted in the northern Indian Ocean. They are also concentrated in small areas, to the south of the Madagascar. The Davis strait, between Baffin island and Greenland, is among the other regions where the blue whales have been sighted. Prior to the whale hunting era (before 1960), maximum number of blue whales were spotted in the Antarctic Ocean.

Blue whales still continue to be in the list of endangered species in the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List. The International Whaling Commission takes into account the different types of whales for forming the whaling rules and regulations. It has also listed the blue whales among the protected species. The Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) has also put blue whales in its list. It is very difficult to get a count of these sea creatures. It has been recorded that there was a growth in their numbers, by about 7.1% in the Antarctic region. However, there are no definite evidences for considering this count as accurate. Because of their large size, there is no other creature that can pose as a potential threat to these massive beings, in the water bodies. The only reason why these amazing creatures have been listed in all sorts of endangered species lists, is because of the human infiltration. Besides, unlike the other sea creatures, blue whales reproduce only once in two to three years. The female blue whales gives birth to only one calf at a time. If proper care for the conservation of this species is not taken, then it will be very difficult to answer the question, where do blue whales live?