THE BLUE WHALE

BJ JESSE SAAMU

- Largest of Earth's animals

- The majestic Blue whale can be found in all the world's oceans.

- In summer, they swim frequently around the polar ice shelves, moving to tropical and subtropical waters during the winter.

- They travel alone or occasionally in pairs, with the larger individuals occurring the farthest south.

- Once numbering close to 200,000 individuals, Blue whales were heavily hunted for their oil, meat, and baleen during the early to mid 1900's, severely reducing the species' population to near the point of extinction.

- Since the International Whaling Commission (IWC) imposed a hunting ban in 1966, Blues have returned to several areas of their former range, but recovery is slow (current populations are only 1% of their former numbers).

CHARECTRISTICS

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/whales/blue.s html

Population:11,000 individualsLocation:All oceansSize:85 to 100 ft longWeight:85 to 150 tons

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/whales/blue.shtml

WHAT IT EATS

Diet: Krill & other tiny Crustaceans

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/whales/blue.shtml

WHERE BLUE WHALES LIVE

Blue Whales live in all oceans world wide.

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/whales/blue.shtml

The blue whale is found mostly in cold waters. It prefers deeper ocean waters to coastal waters. The blue whale occurs in the Icelandic & Celtic Marine Ecosystems and Southern Caribbean Sea. Also, approximately 2,000 blue whales live off the California Coast and migrate to Mexico, and Costa Rica.

HABBITAT

http://www.blue-whale.info/Blue_Whale_Habitat.html

ADAPTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT

1.A baleen whale swims with up-and-down strokes of its powerful tail flukes. Muscles in the upper and lower regions of the caudal peduncle (tail stalk) provide power

2.Rorquals are more streamlined than other baleen whale families, and they swim fastest of baleen whales. The fastest can reach probably approach speeds of 32 kph (20 mph).    3. Other species travel at slower speeds. Gray whales migrate at about 10 to 11 kph (6-7 mph).    4. The thick layer of blubber under the skin of a whale results in a streamlined, fusiform body, making a whale energy-efficient for swimming.

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/baleen/adaptations.htm

MIGRATION

Winter: warm, low latitude tropical waters (breed and give birth) Summer: cooler, high latitude polar waters (feeding) Most blues are migratory and travel thousands of kilometres annually between their winter breeding grounds in warmer, low latitude waters around the tropics, where they mate and give birth, and their summer feeding grounds in the cooler, high latitude waters of either the Arctic and Antarctic, where they feed for 3-4 months on the rich supply of krill and other food which occur in huge numbers in polar waters.

http://www.whaleroute.com/migrate/

MIGRATION MAP

THE END

BLUE WHALE TALE