The blue whale has been nearly hunted to extinction by man when eastern Asian whaling came into fashion a few of hundred years ago. There are less than 12,000 blue whales left worldwide.
Blue whales feed mainly on krill but also small fish and squid, that swim inside their enormous mouths. The blue whale has thousands of extremely fine teeth that allow water to filter out of the whales mouth, without the whales catch escaping.
Apparently just one breath from a fully grown adult blue whale, will produce enough air to fill nearly 2,000 balloons!
The blue whales heart is so big that it is around the same size as a small car, with the blue whales main arteries being big enough for a human to swim through comfortably!
The blue whale is a very solitary animal and generally spends the majority of its life alone, roaming the vast ocean waters. It has been known for particular blue whales to travel in pairs although, it is not known whether or not these blue whales remain together for extended periods of time. When there are good feeding areas, more than 50 blue whales have been seen in the same area, although they do not appear to interact with one another and tend to leave the other blue whales to their feeding.
Very little is known about the breeding patterns or grounds of the blue whale, although scientists do know that female blue whales tend to give birth every 2 to 3 years and this usually takes place at the beginning of winter. The blue whale calf tends to stay with the mother blue whale for around 6 months before the blue whale calf is ready to venture out by itself.
