The world's largest living animal, the blue whale is an endangered species. They can be as big as 75 to 80 feet in length and as heavy as 200,000 pounds. The largest blue whale ever seen was 110 feet long. These mammals are usually found in the waters around Alaska, Canada and Russia.

Blue whales have a wide and flat head, and their dorsal fin is only one foot high. The

whales are not really blue. They are mottled bluish-gray on their backs and sides. Growth of tiny plants called diatoms on their bellies gives them a yellowish color that has caused them to be named “sulphur bottom” whales.

Blue whales migrate long distances between equatorial wintering grounds and high latitude feeding areas. In the eastern North Pacific, theyspend the winter in southern and Baja California. During the summer they swim across to the Gulf of Alaska, but they seldom enter the eastern Bering Sea. They have also been apotted in the eastern Gulf of Alaska, the eastern Aleutians, and the far western Aleutians. They spend most of their time along the edges of continental shelves and are seldom seen in coastal Alaska waters.

Blue whales feed on krill and eat several tons each day. However, they don't eat at all for several months. But that isn't the reason why their numbers are diminishing. Between 1910 and 1966, approximately 8,200 blue whales were killed in the North Pacific, severely reducing the population. The North Pacific population is now estimated at 1,200 to 1,700 blue whales, and there are only 8,000 to 12,000 in the world today.

Did You Know That Blue Whales ...

• are usually found as a solitary animals or in pairs

• do not dive beyond 200 m

• converse in low-frequency moans, pulses, buzzes and rasps of ultrasonic clicks

• when chased, they accelerate to over 19 mph (30 km/h)

• were discovered in 1758

• can blow water through their spout to 30 feet