Adult female blue whales usually give birth to an infant every two to three years, after a pregnancy of approximately 11 months. Antarctic blue whales grow up to 30 metres, while pygmy blue whales are smaller but despite their name still grow to 24 metres in length.Īntarctic blue whales are extremely long-lived animals, living up to an incredible 90 years, while pygmy blue whales live to around 50 years. Two ‘types’ (subspecies) of blue whales are found around Australia: the Antarctic blue whale and pygmy blue whale. When a blue whale is at the ocean’s surface, you may be able to spot the small fin on its smooth back, near the tail, and see a tall column of water vapour, reaching up to 12 metres high, as the whale exhales. This mottling pattern is different on each blue whale and so can be used to identify individuals. Continue to read on or download the fact sheet to learn more blue whale facts.īlue whales are named for the beautiful aquamarine colour they appear when underwater, but when at the surface the skin actually looks a mottled blue-grey. Although the hunting of blue whales is now banned by the International Whaling Commission, there are still very few blue whales compared to the days before whaling. There used to be over 250,000 blue whales in our oceans, but hunting reduced blue whale numbers to just a few hundred. The largest animal in the world was once brought shockingly close to extinction by relentless whaling.
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