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The Blue Whale
The largest animal on the planet, the blue whale can consume more than six tonnes of Euphausiidae (tiny crustaceans) of which its diet almost exclusively consists. It lunges into a shoal of prey and it throat swells 4 times the usual width. It closes its mouth, expels the salty sea water and swallows loads of food objects retained by the baleen. Feeding occurs regularly in summer, in and near rich polar waters. This species of whale is thought to migrate to warmer, lower latitudes winter, when the females have a baby whale. The calf is seven metres ( 23 ft) long, 2.5 tonnes in weight and is suckled for 6 to 8 months. Its length is about 20 – 30 metres ( 66-98ft), its weight is 100- 160 tonnes (98 ½ - 157 ½ ) and it lives worldwide (except mediterranean, baltic, the red sea and arabian gulf).
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