Blue Essays (269 words) - Baleen Whales, Biota, Megafauna

Blue Whales The blue whale or balaenoperta musclus is the largest animal to ever have lived on Earth. Whalers have reported this whale to being over 100 feet long and weighing over 150 tons! The blue whale is a mammal, because it has milk, hair, and the embryo develops in the mothers womb. The blue whale is a type of baleen whale. The blue whale eats mostly plankton and crustaceans like krill or copecods. The blue whale is located in the Atlantic Ocean. The smaller species of the blue whale, known as the pygmy blue whale, live in the Indian Ocean. The reason this whales population has dropped so dramatically is because of the first whaling expeditions. The whalers killed thousands of blue whales, and their numbers have been rising very slowly since that time period. The estimated numbers for the blue whale is at about 7,000 through 13,000, which are very low and make this animal endangered. Whales are now protected throughout the world by whale laws because their numbers were so low. In 1946 the International Whale Commissions (IWC) was set up to put guidelines on whaling nations. Unfortunately, they waited too late for the blue whale because their numbers were so low. If it wasn't for the caring people of IWC and other animal rights activist these gentle animals would probably be extinct. Some interesting facts about the blue whale is that, their oil was used for perfume, lubrications, soap, and candy. The blue whale is almost extinct in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. To stop this from happening to any other species of whale, the United States listed a number of whales that included the blue whale, on endangered species list.