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Blue Whales were first discovered by a man called Robert Sibbauld in 1692. He named them Sibbaldus sulphereus, because the blue whale’s underbelly is yellow (From the microscopic algae that live everywhere in the ocean). This algae covers the blue whales belly and causes it to turn yellow.

Did you know that the blue whale is the largest mammal on earth? Scientist’s studies show that the blue whale can weigh up to 190 tons and can be as long as 98 feet. This particular record of the blue whale was made in between 1946 – 1947 by Japanese whalers, and remains the largest blue whale to this day.

Blue whales feed mainly on krill – a tiny plankton that is between 1-3 inches long. Blue whales need plenty of energy to uphold their daily doings, and to maintain their daily level of energy needed they eat approximately 4 tons of krill – every day. This is the same as 4 million krill per day!

A blue whale can hold its breath for up to 15 minutes – making feeding relatively easy, but can intensify if it feeds more than 700 feet deep. A blue whale can also swim at speeds up to 20 knots, approximately the same speed as the killer whale. The killer whale is the main predator of the blue whale, (other than humans) and usually attacks in packs against young or ill strays. The population of the blue whale is about 400 to 1000. They are hazardously endangered.