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.