Blue Whale
Lexy Estrada
Background Information:
Blue whales are the largest animal ever known to exist. These magnificent whales can grow up to be as big as a space shuttle, and weigh over 200 tons. Their tongue can weigh as much as an elephant, as their hearts as much as a car. With these mind boggling dimensions, surprisingly their diet only consists of krill (tiny shrimp like animals). These whales can consume up to 4 tons of krill a day. Blue whales occasionally swim in small groups, but usually they do swim in pairs or alone.
Throughout the winter, they migrate to the equator, and in the summer, they migrate to polar waters.
Endangerment:
Now, between 10,000 to 25,000 are estimated to be swimming in our oceans.
Due to agressive hunting in the 1900's for their oil and other necessities, they were at the brink of their extinction with almost 400,000 slaughtered.
Protection:
In the late 1960's Blue Whales finally went under protection with the 1966 International Whaling Comission. Even though a minor recovery has been made since then, there's still hope that one day they won't be classified as an endangered on the World Conservation Union.
Bibliography:
nationalgeographic.com